


Retribution

by Aysu, FlorarenaKitasatina



Category: Epic Battle Fantasy
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Drama, EBF4, Epic Battle Fantasy 4, F/M, Fantasy, Romance, Sequel, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-16 03:18:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 30
Words: 170,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5811676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aysu/pseuds/Aysu, https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlorarenaKitasatina/pseuds/FlorarenaKitasatina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Almost two years have passed since the four heroes successfully defeated Godcat and retrieved the Jewels. Now, a new threat looms and they must journey forth once more to defeat it, or risk the destruction of everything they have ever known. The sequel to 'An Epic Retelling.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, this is copied directly from FanFiction.net and no edits have been made. It's a work in progress and my attention are more focused over on FF than they are here, so please forgive me if I don't reply to questions or comments right away. ;) Over there, I posted warnings in the Author Notes each chapter, but as I am not copying the notes over, you do not get the warnings. Just know that the story has earned the explicit rating for both sex and violence and as such, please bear in mind that it is for more mature audiences.

" _It figures that the one time Lance, Matt, and Natalie are going to be gone for a long time a huge monstrosity attacks,_ " Anna complained to herself sarcastically, barely suppressed panic lacing the thought. She had traveled around with the three for a year after their world saving quest for the three jewels that had ended with a battle against two avatars of Godcat herself.

When Matt had ' _borrowed'_ a map supposedly leading to a massive treasure stash on a forgotten island from some shady merchant, she had opted to stay behind to visit with her friends and family in Greenwood, promising to go on their next quest. Sea travel, she had found, did not agree with her. That had been six months ago, and she knew they should be returning in another couple of months. During that time, she missed her three friends horribly—especially her boyfriend, Lance—wishing she had gone with them and toughed out the seasickness; now more than ever.

**DDDDDD**

A traveling seer had visited the village two weeks ago, claiming to see the usual omens of approaching doom and gloom, Anna had listened to the 'warning' with patience before sending the mystic to speak with Old Lana, the village priestess. The man had 'foreseen' the earth splitting in Greenwood and an ancient, unbeatable evil like the world had not seen in millennia clawing its way out of the ground. Anna had internally scoffed at the tale.

As of three hours ago, though, her opinion had changed, drastically. A fissure had appeared in center of the village right as the sun was setting. Anna had run out of her house, bow in hand as she sensed a wave of pure darkness sweep over Greenwood. Right as she arrived, a huge creature hauled itself out of the crack. It looked like nothing she had ever seen before. On top of being taller than any of the houses, it had three heads similar to those of dragons; though none of them had any eyes that Anna had seen. Each mouth was lined with curved fangs that dripped with acid and each shot a different elemental breath. The three serpentine necks as well as the body were covered in a thick, grey hide that Anna could not puncture, even with her Piercing Shot. It had thick legs ending in massive, clawed feet. The walking nightmare had two curved tails tipped with scorpion stingers. Magic, she'd discovered, had some effect on the monster. But, while it seemed to harm the creature it also had made the monster slightly larger and stronger.

As Anna had stood there gaping at the sudden threat, somebody had screamed. The noise spurred the monster into attacking and it had launched itself forwards snapping up the offending villager. The heads had then fought over the kill, gruesomely splitting the hapless man in a shower of gore. Anna had launched Combo Shot, but the arrows had harmlessly bounced off the creature's hide; all that had happened was she had attracted the monster's attention. The beast had charged at her and she had tried an Aqua Arrow. The magic arrow had bounced off as well, but a rash had appeared instantly, causing the monster to falter in its dash with an echoing shriek of pain. One clawed foot lashed out, catching the ranger's side and sending her into a tree. She had quickly healed herself before dashing off through the village, yelling for everyone to run; stopping only to inform Lana that she would do her best to stall the monster while they escaped.

**DDDDDD**

Smoke and flames swirled around Anna as she peered around the corner of a burning building to see if she could get a shot at the back of the strange creature. Dried blood caked her side, cracked around the hastily healed wound and a small trickle still ran down the side of her face from her hair-line; the souvenirs from her ill-fated initial tangle with the beast. She stepped around the side of the building, raising her bow, as the monster turned its back to tear through the wall of another building, searching for another victim. Thankfully, there were no villagers left in Greenwood; in fact, the only reason Anna was still there was to distract the creature until everyone else had escaped by playing a very dangerous game of hide-and-seek.

" _I'll see if I can keep this up for another twenty minutes and then I'll go. Godcat, I wish the other three were here,_ " she thought as she let the arrow fly.

As soon as the missile was airborne, she dove into a set of bushes, heading for the cover of a different building. A screech that raised the hairs on Anna's neck—even though she'd heard it many times by now—rose above the roar of the fire. The ground shook as the monster lumbered to where she had fired the arrow from. A splintering crash signaling the total destruction of a house sounded out as Anna slid behind the cover of another building.

Flattening herself against the rough wall, her heart frantically pounded as she intently listened, trying to determine whether it was safe to check on her foe's position. The ranger frowned as nothing other than the now-familiar roar of the flames and the sharp cracking of wood as trees and houses broke and collapsed came to her ears. Anna swallowed heavily and risked a look around the building.

The giant monstrosity was gone.

Anna frantically twisted, searching for the beast in the thick clouds of smoke, but there was no sign of the creature, only the devastation it had left behind. Anna cautiously stepped out into the open, arrow laid against her bowstring, ready for any attack. None came. The ranger swallowed, still fearfully scanning for the creature to no avail. Finally, she took one last look around the flames that engulfed her home before sprinting into the trees to catch up to the fleeing villagers, tears of helplessness and rage building in her eyes.

Her dash through the trees came to an abrupt halt as she tripped over something soft in the path. Anna picked herself up with a groan and turned to look at what she had stumbled over. Her blood froze in her veins as she saw an arm sticking out from a bush. Trembling, Anna walked back and pushed the braches of the shrub out of the way to reveal the corpse of the shop keeper of Greenwood. His throat had been slit. The ranger swallowed heavily as she reached out and respectfully closed the man's eyes with a shaking hand. A cold feeling sank into her bones; a human had killed this man, not an animal.

Anna stabbed an arrow into a tree near the body to mark where he lay so he could be buried later. She resumed her dash through the forest with renewed, panic-driven energy, her heart racing. A killer was in these woods and might be after the other villagers; she had to catch up to warn them.

The ranger leapt across a small brook and forced her way through group of shrubs, breaking out into a clearing. She froze as she beheld a group of five cloaked figures standing over the scattered bodies of the villagers of Greenwood. The clearing was covered in blood and the heavy scent of iron hung thick in the air. As one, they turned to face Anna, each holding a bloodied sword. Their blades were dripping with the blood of her people who all now lay dead; slaughtered by the five figures in front of her. A low, evil laugh came from under the hood of one of the murders.

Something in Anna's mind snapped and she threw her head back to release a howl of fury, loss, and agonizing pain. Mana exploded outward in a massive wave. The air hummed and the earth shook with its intensity. The figures staggered back from the sheer power of it as the plants in the clearing answered the ranger's call and burst upward. Grass tangled in the murderers' legs, holding them in place as sharp roots burst from the ground, impaling the trapped men. There were a few screams that were cut off almost immediately with a wet choking sound as blood filled the lungs of whoever made noise. The murderers thrashed helplessly for a few brief moments before falling limp, their blood dripping to join the pool of their victims' as it sank into the ground.

Anna fell to her knees, sobbing and staring with broken eyes at the bodies of almost everyone she had ever known. She didn't know how long she stayed there, but eventually she found the mental strength to lift herself to her feet. Her people needed graves and she was the only one to dig them. Anna hollowly returned to the still-burning ruins of her village and found a shovel by the entrance near Lankyroot. She brought her tool back, stopping along the way to retrieve the body of the Greenwood shopkeeper to drag with her. The rest of the night and much of the next day were spent digging graves and dragging bodies into them before covering them. She tried not to look at the familiar faces as she worked for fear she wouldn't be able to continue.

Anna's body trembled with exhaustion as she pressed a single seed into each grave. She knelt there; hands covered in blood and dirt, and stared across the new graveyard. The murderer's corpses she had left in the woods for the animals to feast on. She pulled out her flute and played a haunting, mournful song for the villagers' souls. The notes rose and fell, warbling through the trees before dying away. Anna dropped the flute, curled in on herself with her forehead pressed to the ground, and wailed. Her cries echoed through the forest, scaring nearby birds into flight with cries of alarm.

The sun was setting when she finally rose and turned her back on the graves, heading to the stream to wash the blood and dirt from her form. She didn't feel the cold of the water as she scrubbed. She didn't hear as Tanuki Dogs and Black Birds called to announce the evening. She didn't see the shadowy figure that watched her, a sly smirk twisting his face before he vanished with a swirl of shadows.

**DDDDDD**

Anna woke when a drop of morning dew landed on her face from the tree overhead. She didn't remember falling asleep. Dully, she supposed she shouldn't be surprised she had passed out after all the emotion of the day before. A wave of sorrow threatened to overwhelm the ranger as she thought of all the graves she had just dug. She was alone, now. All alone.

The ranger shook herself violently. "You are _not_ alone, Anna. You still have three friends," family, really; especially now that her real family was dead, "They aren't here now, but they will be," she fiercely told herself.

She took a few deep breaths and squared her shoulders. She needed to find out who would want to murder the entire population of Greenwood and why. She also needed to find out more about the monster that had attacked; which meant she needed to find the seer that had visited. Eventually, Lance and the others would come back, but until they did she would work on finding out as much as she could on her own. And be very careful as she did it. She doubted the assassins she had killed were the only ones. When they failed to return others would know they had been discovered and killed. And really, she had been the only person in Greenwood who would be strong enough to do the job, so she would be the likely suspect.

Welcoming the distraction that her new objective would give her, and thankful for the fact that she always kept all of her gear on her in her Adventure Pouch, Anna headed for Goldenbrick. The seer had mentioned he was heading back to his home there.

**DDDDDD**

Anna stepped onto the sandy ground of Goldenbrick Resort. Her journey through Lankyroot Jungle had been much less eventful than when she had gone through with her friends. For one, there was no storm, and for two, the giant plant they had fought was still dead and none of the weird flowers that had been there before were there. Even the humidity hadn't been too bad. " _In fact,_ " Anna mused with a frown, "G _oldenbrick isn't as hot as before, either. It's almost chilly, actually._ " It was too early in the year for the temperature to be dropping. Shrugging the strange weather off, Anna headed for the tavern to ask around about the seer.

Pushing the door open, the ranger walked passed the crowded tables, ignoring the stares she garnered from the few patrons inside, and snagged a seat at the bar. The chatter started up again as the patrons realized that just because she was wearing her bow openly it didn't mean she was about to start firing arrows around.

A few minutes later, the barkeep, a man slightly older than Anna stopped in front of her, "What can I get for a pretty young lady such as you?" Anna ordered a glass of water and bowl of soup, sliding a few pieces of gold across the counter. The man swept them into a coin pouch and called her order into the kitchen before bringing over the water.

Anna sniffed the water carefully. At one point, a drunken Matt had thought it would be funny to lace her drink with some essence of hallucinogenic shrooms. The resulting fiasco had been mortifying, and now she was slightly paranoid of spiked drinks. Smelling nothing unusual, she sipped at the water until her food arrived. The ranger ate her soup quickly and waved the bartender over when she was finished.

"I'm looking for an old man who claims he's a seer. Do you know of him?" Anna asked when the man reached her, wiping a glass clean with a rag.

The bartender snorted, "Who doesn't know him? He's out there by the altar everyday with the usual end of the world crap."

A man on Anna's right leaned over, "I dunno if you want to write him off. He claimed the weather here was going to take an early turn for colder temperatures and now look; it's almost cold enough to be winter out there."

Anna frowned, mentally turning over this supposed proof of his skills as the bartender snorted again, "Oh, please. This isn't the first time weather has turned cold early here. He just made a lucky guess." The patron shrugged but turned back to his drink. With sly wink at Anna, the bartender leaned closer, "Forget about the old coot. I'm free at sundown if you want to have fun." The man's gaze wandered downwards, telling Anna exactly what kind of ' _fun_ ' he was talking about.

"I already have a boyfriend, thanks," Anna refused with a bright blush, standing up.

The man shrugged, moving away, "Well, if you ever change your mind, I'm here every night."

Anna shook her head sharply and bade him a good evening before slipping back outside. "Ugh, men," the ranger muttered leaning against the wall next to the door. " _Good thing Lance wasn't here to hear that,_ " Anna thought with a chuckle. The familiar pang of missing him shot through her before she shook it off and stood straight again. "Well, I guess the seer isn't out now or I would hear him. I might as well go see if the inn has any open rooms," she said to herself.

On her way to the inn, Anna passed a group of men she remembered sitting just inside the door of the bar, leaning against a wall in the shadow of an overhang. One stuck his foot out as she passed, tripping the ranger. As soon as she was down, the three men surrounded her. "Alright, girly, hand over all your money and weapons right now and there won't be any need for unpleasantness," the leader said with a sneer.

" _I change my mind: I wish Lance were here to shoot these guys where it hurts,_ " Anna mentally groaned as she slowly stood up, eyeing the muggers. They watched her closely as she reached for her coin purse. While their attentions were fixated on the jingle of gold, Anna suddenly dropped again and swung her leg around, sweeping their feet out from under them. The men all swore colorfully as they hit the ground before scrambling up to chase after Anna as she raced away.

" _This is just not my month. Why didn't any of this happen the last time we came through here?_ " The ranger wondered in exasperation as she ducked down a narrow alley. She scrambled up a wall, using loose bricks as handholds and footholds. Anna hauled herself over the lip of the roof just as the men chasing her, tore around the corner with their daggers drawn. They ran down the alley without once looking up only to skid to a stop when they didn't see their quarry in the empty street on the other side.

"Damnit, she was right there! This is entirely your fault, you two clods," the leader raved, sheathing his dagger and turning on the other two with anger gleaming in his eyes. "She was one girl with only a bow on her; that should have been simplicity itself!"

"Then why did you get knocked down, too?" one of the grunts muttered. Anna suppressed a laugh as the leader spluttered indignantly before the meaty smack of a fist striking flesh rang out followed by three sets of heavy footsteps stomping away.

Anna peered over the lip of the roof carefully, checking for any sign of the muggers before hopping down and continuing to the inn with much more care. "Well, at least I know why that didn't happen last time," Anna murmured as the inn came into sight. " _I'll need to buy some kind of blade to carry with me. Maybe a dagger—I have a little experience with those,_ " she mused, pushing the inn door open and walking up to the desk to request a room.

She was in luck. The unusually cold weather had turned away many of the usual tourists, so not only were there plenty of open rooms, but the price for one had been marked way down. Anna paid for her room and slipped upstairs to rest. She checked the locks on the window and door before leaning her bow up against the nightstand and flopping on the bed with a massive sigh.

"This visit has been way more stressful than I was expecting. I hope the others get back soon," she mumbled with an arm across her face. She wondered what they were doing right now and whether they had actually found any treasure. Slowly her eyes slipped shut and she fell asleep.

**DDDDDD**

It was only just past midnight when Anna shot up with a choked scream, cold sweat running in rivulets down her face and neck. She leaned forward and roughly scrubbed her face with trembling hands.

She had been having nightmares ever since Greenwood had been destroyed. The dreams varied; sometimes the monster that had attacked was there, killing all the villagers one-by-one before laughing as it turned on her. Other times, she was cornered by the cloaked assassins, their blades dripping with the blood of Matt, Natalie, and Lance. The most frequent one, though, was the worst of all. She would be standing there, a freezing blade held against her throat by an invisible force as the villagers appeared one after another, each with bloody scores across their necks, red liquid dripping from their mouths, and their eyes glazed with death. They accused her of sending them to their deaths. Asking why had she been too slow to save them. Why should she live when they hadn't? The dream always ended with her throat being slit.

Anna choked on a sob as she tried desperately to shove the images from her mind. She tried to focus on things that made her happy. The first kiss she and Lance had shared on the beach just outside. Her elation when they had won against Godcat. The wonderful year she had spent wandering around with her friends. How happy she would be to see them again. Eventually, her breathing evened out and she slipped back into a restless sleep for the rest of the night.

**DDDDDD**

Anna left the inn well after the sun had come up the next morning and headed for the weapon's shop to purchase a dagger. She kept a wary eye on the people around her, just in case somebody else decided she was a good target for a robbery. She had been lucky that the first bunch had been idiots, but she wasn't going to count on her luck holding out. Slipping inside the shop, Anna nodded a greeting to the owner before she headed for the case displaying daggers.

Looking over the various blades critically for a few minutes, Anna mused on what would be best for her. Not throwing knives, she'd never used one before and she doubted it was as easy as experts made it look. She passed over the decorative daggers and the ones disguised as hairpins or other objects. Anna wandered down the selection until she paused at a series of blades about the length of her forearm. Spotting a gleaming steel dagger with a red flame etched in the blade lying next to a plain leather sheath, the ranger grinned and waved the store owner over. The older man approached and opened the case, carefully pulled out the blade, and handed it to Anna, hilt first.

The man watched with a smile as Anna mimed a few swings and thrusts, attempting to remember her knife fighting lessons from when she was fourteen. "Not bad form for a newbie," the man commented.

Anna grinned sheepishly, "I had a few lessons when I was a kid, but I don't really remember them. I'm actually getting it as a thief deterrent."

The man nodded with an approving gleam in his eyes, "That's a good choice, then; the hilt is unadorned so they won't go after you for wealth. Try putting more of your shoulder strength behind your stabs," he suggested and glanced at the gleaming white bow on her back, "As long as you have that nice bow out, they'll go for that, though. I humbly suggest carrying a less obviously-valuable weapon." He watched as Anna pulled the finely carved Angel Wing bow off her back and slipped it away t replace it with her Sky Feather. "That is a fine weapon, though not at first glance," the owner said, eyes sweeping over the bow, "Its enchantment restores magic?"

The ranger shot an impressed glance at him, "That's right: it drains mana from my foes on top of doing added wind damage. You can tell just by looking at it?" The man smiled widely, a twinkle in his eyes. Anna smiled back, handing the dagger back to him. "I'd like to purchase that dagger and the one next to it with the blue etchings," she requested. "Thank you for your help."

The man gave a slight bow as she handed over the required amount of gold for the daggers. Anna accepted the two blades, tying one to the belt at her waist and tucking the other away. She waved a good bye to the store owner and headed out the door for the Goldenbrick Altar. As she walked, she was acutely aware of the unfamiliar weight of the dagger at her hip and the ranger mentally ran over her knowledge of blades and fighting with them. She sighed, resolving to get some practice in as soon as possible with some monsters.

As she got closer to the altar, Anna began to hear an old man's voice above the sound of the wind whistling through alleys. She turned the corner and there was the seer, kneeling on a worn cushion the glowing red Jewel of Goldenbrick sat above his head. The man called to people as they passed. Most ignored the old man, some tossed a few coins on the ground in front of him as if he were a beggar, and others spat in his general direction before walking off muttering about senile old fools. The seer was unfazed by the treatment, continuing to ask people to stop and listen. The first real reaction he had was a start of surprise when Anna walked up to stand in front of him.

The man peered up from beneath shaggy white, eyebrows at her. His eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the young woman as the ranger who had directed him to the priestess in Greenwood. "Ahh, your name is Anna, correct?" He asked.

The ranger nodded, crouching down to sit in front of him.

"I thought so. You did not believe me when I spoke to you in Greenwood, but neither did you belittle me and my message as these fools do. How is Old Lana faring? She seemed rather frail of health when I spoke with her." He watched as a shadow passed across the young woman's face and her eyes darkened in remembrance of something horrible. "I see…" He murmured sadly, "Though I am sure these words mean little to you, I am sorry for your loss. She will be missed."

"She, and everyone else in Greenwood," Anna said in a tight voice. "At least by me."

The man rocked backwards in shock, "They are all dead?" His face darkened, "The darkness arose and killed them, did it?" He watched with sorrow as she turned away, "This is somber news indeed. I grieve for their loss, and I am relieved that you have survived, young Anna."

"An unbeatable monster did rise, but it wasn't what killed them," Anna murmured, fighting back tears.

The man frowned in confusion and slowly stood, "Come, the streets are no place for this discussion. Let us return to my home and I shall brew us some tea."

Anna mutely followed him as he led the way to a single room home tucked away on the edge of Goldenbrick. He held the door for the ranger and followed her inside.

"It isn't much, but it's home. Have a seat wherever, while I boil some water," he said as he hobbled to a bucket and ladled some water into a dented pitcher that he set above the fire pit. A murmured spell later and the wood blazed. The old man settled down on a low stool and turned to face where Anna sat, her eyes gazing blankly into the flames. "Now, then; tell me what happened, as much as you are comfortable saying."

Anna swallowed heavily a few times before opening her mouth and relating her tale in a quiet and broken voice.


	2. Chapter 2

The old seer remained silent as he listened to Anna's tale, stopping her only when she started crying too hard to continue clearly. The water for their tea was heated by the end and the old man silently rose, pouring the hot water over some tea leaves in a teapot before setting the container on a low table to steep along with two cups. Anna had wiped her face clean of her tears by the time he sat down again, though her eyes were till puffy and red from crying.

With a long and heavy sigh, the seer spoke, "I foresaw the monster, but not the people who slaughtered the people of your village. The fact that these events happened at the same time concerns me. I didn't believe that anyone knew the legends anymore; and if they did I had assumed they would know better than to be nearby when the Primordial rose."

Anna frowned at the unfamiliar name, "'The Primordial'? Is that the name of the creature I fought?"

The man nodded, "Yes, and quite frankly, I'm surprised you are still alive."

"It was a near thing," Anna admitted, "After my first couple of attacks I just hid from it, trying to buy time for- for the others to escape." She might have started crying again if she thought she had any tears left to shed right then.

She gratefully accepted the cup of tea offered to her and held it to her face as she inhaled the scent deeply. Tears prickled in her eyes after all as she recognized the blend as what had been Old Lana's favorite. She lifted one arm to wipe the tears away before they fell, and took a sip of the warm tea. Anna was almost able to hear Lana scolding her, saying that she needed to focus on the task at hand; complete with a ridiculous 'what if,' " _Do you think saltwater is going to melt that beast? What if, while you're crying, it learns to tap dance across my grave? I'll come haunt you if that happens."_ A nostalgic smile played across Anna's face.

Deciding that even if it was highly unlikely the Primordial would do that, she did need to find out as much as she could to try and stop it. She looked over at the old man across from her. His face was somber as he watched her, but something in his eyes told her that he knew what this tea meant to her. Clearing her throat she told him about when her magic had hit the creature.

Alarm immediately crossed his face, "Never use magic against the Primordial. It has to be pure to do any damage to the beast without granting it even more power."

Anna thought that over before speaking hesitantly, "I have a friend who is a very skilled mage, probably the best one alive; could she safely damage it with magic?"

The old man leaned back with a shrewd gleam in his eyes, "May I ask the name of this friend?"

"Natalie; she and my other two friends helped stop Godcat a year and a half ago," Anna told him.

"I thought so. Yes, if she used the proper staff, she could probably do the most damage to it with a minimal amount of power being given to it," the man mused, stroking his white beard thoughtfully, "Enough force could probably also damage the creature. Although, the weapons said to be able do that kind of damage without added magic have been lost for a very long time now—if they ever existed."

With bright eyes Anna begged, "Please tell me what you know about them!"

He nodded hesitantly, "Of course, but bear in mind that I only know the legends of them." He paused until Anna nodded eagerly for him to continue, "First, there was the bow, Iron Tooth. It was made of enchanted metal said to add so much more force to the arrows when fired than the size of the bow suggested. It is said that a legendary archer of old once fired this bow and the arrow passed through the trunks of ten trees and was buried so far into the boulder that stopped it that they could not retrieve the arrow."

He smiled as the ranger's eyes widened in amazement before continuing, "Next, there was the sword, Equilibrium. The blade was forged of metal as black as night with silver runes running along the blade. It had a unique crosspiece at the tip and was so heavy that it took the strength of ten men to lift. They say that a great hero of old swung this sword and cleaved through a mountain. Then, there was a golden staff called the Shooting Star, named for its shape and the fact that it had been forged from a fallen star. And finally, there was a rifle; the first rifle ever made, in fact. It was called Super Snipe for it could target a man's head from across a mountain range and never miss."

Anna was in the middle of drinking when she heard the name and nearly choked as she hurried to swallow. "Did you say Super Snipe?" she asked between coughs, her mind racing.

The man eyed her oddly, "Yes, I take it you've heard of it before?"

"I think I've seen it, actually," Anna said, causing the seer's eyes to widen. "What does it look like?"

"Long and made of obsidian black metal with a blood red sight. Despite its massive size, though, it is said to be very light," he said, watching Anna's jaw drop. "Where did you see it, Anna?"

"Lance has a rifle that looks exactly like that. He calls it Super Snipe. I've seen him carry it with one hand and climb trees with it on his back. He took the arm off the Greenwood Guardian with just two bullets from it; one to turn Mighty Oak and another to take the arm off," Anna said quietly. "At one point, I asked him where he got it from, but he wouldn't tell me. It made him uncomfortable to talk about so I never pressed him for the info." She shook her head in silent amazement, wondering if her boyfriend even knew how special his gun was.

Anna blinked, eyes brightening in realization, "If the rifle exists then I bet the others do, too. Matt could lift that sword onehanded, and we'll need all the firepower we can get." She frowned thoughtfully, "I wonder where they are? Some place people don't go, no doubt, or somebody would have found them by now. I guess I can put off finding them until Lance and the others get back."

"Where are your friends? The fond look in your eyes when you speak of them makes me wonder why they are not here with you right now," the old man asked.

Anna waved vaguely in the direction of the ocean, "Oh, off on some treasure hunt again. They got a map leading them to an island, but traveling by boat does not agree with my stomach so, I stayed here. It'll be another few months until they get back."

"Will you be okay alone until then? If there are people involved in this mess with the Primordial then they may be hunting you," the man said with a concerned light in his eyes.

The ranger hesitated slightly before nodding, "I should be fine, I have some armor that makes me practically invisible in shadows. If I stay out of towns, and stay covered when I have to go in them, they most likely won't be able to find me." Her face hardened, "I almost want them to find me so I can get the revenge my village deserves." Anna scowled for a moment before laughing suddenly, "Lana would slap me if she heard that. She used to always say: 'Revenge is as useless as a bucket with holes drilled in the bottom. Find a more useful emotion.'"

The old man chuckled, "She was a wise, old woman. Do not let your desire for revenge prevent you from doing what actually needs to be done."

Anna nodded, "I'll try. What should I do?"

The seer opened his mouth to reply but started coughing instead. He waved for the ranger to remain seated when she moved to stand. He stood up himself as the coughing fit passed and hobbled to a cabinet. Anna watched with concern as he measured out a powder and stirred it into his tea before coming back to sit down.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked hesitantly.

"I'm old is what I am; I doubt I'll live to see next spring. My visions led me to Greenwood and I had hoped I could save them, but the journey has left me weak. The medicine suppresses the cough, but it seems to become less and less effective as time goes on," The man said; his voice now hoarse from the coughing.

"And the trip didn't save them after all," Anna murmured bitterly. "I heard your warning, but I didn't listen to it back then any more than the people of Goldenbrick did today. And now they're all dead."

The man leaned forward and spoke sharply, despite his raspy voice, "Blame is as useless a revenge, Anna. And you did save them from the Primordial." He swept on, not allowing her to deny his claim, "What killed them was not the monster I had foreseen, but a different monster in the form of man. You did not know they were waiting and even if you had, you could never have fought them off and delayed the Primordial at the same time. What's more is that you listened to me today and you know it to be true; an ignorant journeying to stop this threat—believing all the while that it is not real—would be as useless as a newborn. I know that you can stop this new threat so long as you do not give up. Your friends will return and they will find you and support you."

He paused to take a few breaths before finishing, "What you must do now is stay hidden. Avoid these murderers as best you are able until your friends find you, and when they do, stay together; though I'm sure you do not need to tell you that."

Anna swallowed her doubts about the blame and nodded firmly.

"I do not know much beyond my visions have shown to me, but I can tell you this: I dreamt of an ancient temple hidden deep in the belly of the earth. I do not know what is there, but I sense that you and your friends must find it," the old man stifled a cough and swallowed some more tea. His forehead had a light sheen of sweat glistening on it.

"I wish—more than anything, right now—that I could aid you more, Anna. You have suffered far more than any human deserves and I pray that you need not suffer more before the end," he said with sorrow gleaming in his eyes.

Anna shook her head, "You've helped me more than you can know. I came here grasping at straws, trying to find something to keep me going until my friends returned. You gave me something to focus on other than allowing my grief to crush me. Thank you…" She blushed suddenly, "I never asked you for your name, even though you remembered mine! I'm so sorry!"

The old man laughed at the suddenly flustered ranger, "There's no need to apologize! My name is not important, although I'm flattered that you think it is." He smiled wistfully, "You are the first person to request my name in five years." His smile widened at the look of stunned horror on Anna's face, "Now don't give me that look. Not having young folk calling for me all the time has been a blessing, I'll have you know."

"I still think that's horrible, but if you say that it's okay, then I guess it's okay," Anna said with a small frown and a shake of her head. "So, what is your name?"

"Dramal," the man said with a smile.

Anna stood and bowed to the seer, "Thank you, Dramal. Thank you for trying to save my people at the cost of your own health. Thank you for speaking with me. Thank you for reminding me that what happened wasn't my fault; I'm not sure I believe it yet, but I'll try not to forget. Thank you for all your help. Thank you for everything."

"Stop that before you make me cry," Dramal jokingly said, smiling at Anna. "You are welcome for everything." He paused smile fading as he gazed at the young ranger in front of him, "You are strong and capable young woman, Anna; I am sure you will be fine, but be sure to take extra care."

Anna nodded and bowed once more. She rose with a cheeky grin as he sighed in mock exasperation. The ranger gave the old man a final thank you and left.

She walked briskly to the armor shop to purchase a cloak to cover herself with; the less recognizable features about her on display, the better. She stepped out wearing a long dark grey cloak with a hood pulled up over her face. She had changed out of her normal Ranger Dress and into the black dress she had worn to fight Godcat and had fondly started calling a Ninja Dress after Lance had joked she was turning into a ninja. Her new dagger was strapped at her waist and she had her Sky Feather bow slung across her back. The sun was setting as a shadow slipped out of Goldenbrick into Lankyroot Jungle.

**DDDDDD**

Anna had been in hiding for two months, staying far away from villages and busy roads as much as possible in that time. She spoke only to the occasional merchants she came across on the quieter paths, always asking the same questions. She wanted to know of local legends that might lead to the remaining weapons or the underground temple Dramal had told her to find. During that time she had gotten a little better with the daggers she had purchased, though she was far from considering herself very good with them, and still much preferred to use her bow.

Today was odd, though; today, she was going to walk into Whitefall Town. She had heard from some a traveling merchant she had purchased a thick sleeping roll from that something had stolen the Jewel from the snowy village. While the jewels no longer did anything that Anna knew of since Godcat's departure, she had heard the circumstances of the disappearance were strange and she felt compelled to go check the altar out.

The ranger stepped out of the cave, carefully checking for any surprise attacks. She hadn't seen or heard any sign of people part of the same group that had murdered her people since that awful night, but she wasn't going to allow that fact to lower her guard. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Anna stepped out into the snow, pulling her cloak tighter around her in an attempt to conserve heat. She walked until she was stopped by the guard posted just outside the cavern entrance. He seemed wary of her, but let her through to the village with a simple warning to ' _stay out of trouble_ '. Anna had promised to do so and headed straight for the altar.

She stopped and a cold chill ran down her spine as she saw the clear tracks in the snow around the altar; tracks that melted the falling snow as soon as it touched them. Quickly thinking back to what the merchant had told her, Anna frowned as she figured the tracks to be at least a week old. They should be covered by now, certainly.

She crouched down in the snow and studied the shape, comparing them to her memory of her fight with the Primordial and was fairly certain that they matched. Standing up again, Anna walked around the clearing following the marks and found that the tracks simply appeared near the altar, went around the ice-covered stump once and then vanished into thin air; just like when it had been stalking her through Greenwood.

The ranger shuddered before backing away and looking up at the thick clouds covering the sky. She didn't want to head back through the Crystal Caverns, which meant traversing the snow hills on the opposite side of Whitefall. From there she would hug the wall of the Graveyard until she reached the old stone quarry of Greenwood. That plan meant the weather had to be fairly decent and as Anna studied the clouds, she sighed and decided that no, the weather was not good enough to risk starting her trek this late in the day. Anna sighed again and watched as her breath billowed in front of her before being whipped away by a gust of wind.

Half-reluctantly and half-gratefully, the ranger turned and walked towards the inn. It would be nice to sleep under a roof with real warm sheets again, but it was also a huge risk if there were any members of those assassins here. She'd just have to keep her hood up, speak as little as possible, and leave early.

" _It'll be nice to hear people talking again, even if I don't speak much,_ " Anna thought with another longing pang for her absent friends. " _I hope they get back soon, but I know it will be almost another month._ "

She wanted them here now. She needed somebody there who knew her. She wanted Lance to wrap her in a hug so she could pretend for a little while that everything was fine. She wanted Natalie there so she'd have someone to talk to about girly things as they did their hair or practiced magic. She wanted Matt there being his usual self, trying to eat everything in sight and steal whatever wasn't edible. She wanted to snuggle with NoLegs as he purred at night until Lance eventually kicked him away; she'd tried summoning the small cat once, but he didn't appear—he was across the sea with the others.

She wanted the feeling of safety she always felt around them. Safety was a luxury that she hadn't felt since the massacre of Greenwood. The stress of being on the run showed, too, and she knew it. There were persistent dark circles under her eyes from stress and exhaustion, and she had lost weight.

" _Maybe a night at the inn would be a very good thing,_ " Anna mused as she pushed the door open, " _Besides, I need to ask around about the tracks at the altar._ "

**DDDDDD**

Later that night, Anna flopped backwards on the bed in her room, bouncing slightly on the springy mattress. The brief chat she had with the lady at the front desk had been refreshing but ultimately unhelpful. All the ranger had learned was that no had seen what took the jewel and that it had happened at night.

"Still," she murmured rolling onto her side, "the conversation was nice, and it was great having properly cooked hot food. I bet the other three didn't have that tonight." " _Well, the food at least,"_ she mentally amended with a lonely sigh.

She was tempted to curl up and sleep until morning, but dragged herself upright to double check that the door and windows were all locked. She slid the deadbolt on the door home and pulled the curtains across the windows.

Once assured that no one could get in, the ranger tucked one of her daggers under her pillow, made sure her bow was within easy reach, and tugged the comforter over her body with a sigh of bliss at the soft warmth. Seconds after her head hit the pillow, Anna was asleep.

She woke just before dawn and dragged herself out of bed with groan of reluctance. That had been the first full night of sleep she'd had in weeks, and her body was telling her just how much it wanted to get a little more rest. Regardless, Anna stood up and dressed. Double checking that she had all of her things, the ranger pulled on her dark grey cloak and stepped out of her room, checking the hallway for any people.

" _I'd like to be able to not have to check for assailants during everything I do,_ " Anna grumbled in her head.

The long rest had helped, but she still felt frayed as she made her way down the stairs. The shift had just changed and a new person was manning the desk when Anna approached to order breakfast and inform them she would be leaving after she ate. She ignored the curious look the man gave her for not removing her hood as she ate, thanking him politely and requesting some dried provision to take with her.

A half hour later and Anna left the inn, headed for Greenwood for the first time since she had left two months ago. The recent theft of the Whitefall Jewel pushed her to return to the ruins of her home to check whether the Greenwood Jewel was still there. She stayed in the shadows cast by houses and trees until she was well out of sight of the town. She didn't see the two figures that followed her into the snowy hills.

The first half of the day was uneventful for the ranger. The only monsters she saw that attacked her were a pair of Ice Idols. She had quickly and easily dispatched them before continuing on her way. It wasn't until she was munching on her lunch of jerky strips as she walked that Anna saw one of the people trailing her. She jolted slightly, but a half-faked fall on a patch of ice under the snow kept it from looking like she noticed them. Taking her time to rise while rubbing her sore hip, Anna scanned the area around her from under her hood as far as she could without turning her head.

"There," she murmured as a shadow darted from one tree to another on her right. If the ranger hadn't known there was a person there, she doubted that she'd have seen the flash of movement for what it was.

She started walking again tilting her head back as if she were checking the sky to cover her glances at the person following her. Another flash of movement on her left had Anna swallowing nervously; there was more than one. Tilting her head back down, Anna spotted a thick copse of evergreen trees up ahead and decided she would deal with the pair following her there. She picked up her pace while stretching her arms over her head and hoped that her stalkers would think she was just eager to rest someplace out of the snow.

Anna slipped between the trees and took her cloak off. She propped it up against a tree with a few branches before walking backwards, arranging it to be mostly out of sight. The ranger quickly crept back, being careful to step in her own tracks, until she threw herself to the side, slipped further away, and shimmied up a tree. She crouched down on a branch in clear view of her decoy with her back propped against the trunk and waited.

Not ten minutes after Anna had laid her trap, she heard the quiet footsteps crunching underneath her hiding place in the silence of the snowy copse. The ranger watched intently as two figures wearing white cloaks snuck up on the dummy she had set up. They suddenly sprang on what they thought was their target and violently stabbed it with their daggers only to let out curses when the ploy was revealed.

"She's gotta be nearby still. This bitch has evaded us for too long, we can't let her get away this time. You go that way, I'll check over here," a gruff male voice said.

The second person, also male, nodded and moved off to search for her. "She won't get away alive this time," he promised darkly.

Anna swallowed thickly as they split up. Moving slowly to avoid attracting their attention, she nocked a single arrow and aimed for the second speaker. With a thrum, the arrow flew through the air to pierce the man's knee. With a loud cry of pain, the stalker fell to the forest floor, clutching his wounded leg. His cries of pain brought the other person running only to also be shot down, this time with an arrow in his calf.

She didn't drop down immediately, knowing that her Ninja Dress would conceal her from their frantically searching eyes, waiting to see if they would say or do anything. When after three minutes the only change was how much blood stained the snow, Anna slipped down the trunk and approached the wounded pair, keeping her bow ready in front of her.

The two men looked up at her approach and there was fear gleaming in their eyes. Seeing the blatant fear two men on the ground displayed sickened Anna slightly; even if they were part of the group that had killed her people, she had never really wanted to be terrifying to anyone except sometimes Lance when he pissed her off.

The ranger shook off the feeling and glared at the two in front of her. "Alright, start talking or else this next arrow will be stuck in a very valuable piece of you that I can guarantee you'll miss," Anna threatened coldly.

She watched with some satisfaction as the two men stiffened and she went on, "Who are you with, why did you kill all the people of Greenwood, did you call that monster there, and why are you hunting me down?"

The heavier set man with the gruff voice simply glared at Anna, but the other man, whimpered in terror as she threateningly raised her bow. All it took to get the second man spilling was for her to start drawing the arrow back.

"Don't shoot, please!" he cried. He ignored the warning growl his companion gave and started rapidly talking, "W-we're a part of a group called Origin! The grandmaster told us that he wanted you broken so he had some of the faithful waiting near your village the night he called the Primordial there! He thought it had worked, but when he sent people to kill you the next day, you had vanished!"

Anna felt a chill creep over her as the man babbled, "He _summoned_ the Primordial? How and why?"

The man never got to respond as his companion seized Anna's lapse in focus to slit the traitor's throat with his dagger. With wild eyes, the man stared at Anna, "You will never stop the return of the Primordial! You may have escaped this day, but more will come! They will find you, wherever you run!"

He then ran the knife across his own throat before flinging the bloodied blade at Anna with a clumsy overhand toss. His insane laughter gurgled in his ruined throat and caused the blood to bubble before he jerked and fell still.

The ranger dodged the blade with ease and stared at the two dead men in front of her, their blood soaking the snow around their bodies. She swallowed the bile that rose to her mouth and turned to retrieve here cloak before continuing on to Greenwood.

**DDDDDD**

Three days later, and Anna stepped past the ruined entrance to Greenwood Village. She felt tears prickle her eyes as she walked through what was left of her home. None of the buildings had survived the fire, several large trees had come down and lay across the ground, mostly burned, and many patches of what had been grass-covered ground were still bare. Her eyes scanned the village both to check for any more assassins and to take in what remained. To her relief there seemed to be no signs of enemies, but it drove a dagger into her heart to see her home in such ruin.

The ranger swallowed her pain and blinked the tears out of her eyes as she headed to the Altar of Greenwood. It was only a few seconds before she saw the long scar in the earth left by the Primordial's entrance. The altar where the Jewel had sat was spilt on either side of the crevasse and charred from the fire, but, as she had expected, the Jewel was nowhere to be seen. Anna stepped up to the edge of the fissure and peered down it.

"I suppose it might have fallen," she thoughtfully mused aloud, "Dunno how I'd check that though."

She inspected the walls of the pit with a considering frown. There were a number of places she could use as handholds and foothold, but Anna was reluctant to climb down there while she knew people were after her. On top of the possibility of an ambush while she was defenseless, something about the pit felt… wrong. Although she wasn't quite sure what was off about the fissure, her instincts told her that she'd be much better off staying up here. A clunking sound from behind Anna had her turning around, bow in hand. To her surprise and relief she saw a lone Wooden Idol was the source of the noise.

"Hey there, little guy," Anna said, lowering her bow, "I didn't think any of you had survived."

The Idol didn't respond, of course, but the ranger didn't expect it to; though, she noted that the creature was acting fairly odd. It tottered towards her a few steps, then away, turned to look at her, and then repeated the actions. Anna watched the Idol with a puzzled frown before her eyes lit up and she slapped a palm to her forehead.

"You want me to follow you, duh," the ranger said, feeling slightly stupid for taking so long to realize the obvious message. She blamed her slow thinking on lack of sleep and followed the idol through the village and into the forest.

Fifteen minutes later, and Anna realized that they were heading towards the graves she had dug for the villagers. She froze for a second before continuing after the Idol. To her surprise the creature stopped at a random tree on the way and turned to her expectantly. Anna stared at the tree, trying to figure out why the idol wanted her to see this particular tree. The ranger walked around the trunk and saw an arrow lodged in the tree. The fletching was tattered and some bits of moss were hanging off the shaft, but she recognized it as the arrow she had left here so she'd know where the shopkeeper's body had been.

Anna glanced down and asked, "You want me to take the arrow out?"

The Idol bounced from one foot to the other. The ranger nodded, grasped the wooden shaft as close to the trunk as she could and yanked the arrow free. To her surprise, the thing came out in one piece; she'd thought the head would remain stuck for sure.

Kneeling down, she handed the arrow to the Idol and grinned as it held it in one hand like a scepter before her smile faded as the creature tottered onward to the graveyard. Taking a deep breath, Anna followed the Idol across the small stream and through the bushes and froze as she saw the graves. To her shock, there were a number of Wooden Idols tottering around, carrying cracked cups and bowls. The buds of new plants sprouted from each grave, despite the cold. As she watched, one of the idols poured a little water on one of the plants. The ranger swallowed and whispered a small thank you to the faithful servants of Greenwood Village who continued to serve, even after their masters had passed.

**DDDDDD**

The sun was setting as Anna hiked up the steps leading to the Guardian of Greenwood. She had stayed in the forest around Greenwood for the past week searching for any place the Jewel might have been secreted to by the Wooden idols, but decided that she couldn't risk staying here any longer. She planned to leave after visiting her village's guardian.

Reaching the top of the steps, Anna turned her attention to the center of the Shrine and saw Mighty Oak standing there, tall and strong, as he always had. The ranger bowed to the guardian and placed an offering of thanks to him for continuing to watch over the forest and the graves of Greenwood. The construct didn't move, but Anna felt a sudden breeze, warmer than the usual cold wind that seemed to constantly blow no matter where she was.

With a final bow, the girl turned to leave only to freeze as Mighty Oak shifted aggressively. For a moment, Anna thought he was going to attack her, although she had no idea why he would since she still had his favor and very obviously wasn't attacking him. A scraping sound from behind her had the ranger twisting. A row of six assassins stood a few feet away, blocking the entrance of the shrine; each carried a blade of some sort.

Anna stepped back towards Mighty Oak as the hooded people took a step forwards. The ground shook as the guardian stomped, summoning three Wooden Idols to aid him. The small creatures jumped forward only to be cut down by the attackers. Anna raised Sky Feather and fired an arrow into the shoulder of the nearest assassin. The man cried out in pain and dropped his sword to clutch the wound only be smacked down the steps by an attack from Mighty Oak. Two of the assassins stepped back and began casting Firestorm on the guardian. Anna tried to hit one, but the other three fighters pressed forward to distract her. Another arrow flew away and another one of her foes dropped. Mighty Oak sent another man flying straight into a tree where he cried out and fell still.

With a curse, Anna realized she had forgotten about the mages and snapped off another arrow. The missile was flying towards them when their spells were finally finished. A cyclone of fire surrounded the Guardian of Greenwood right as Anna's arrow slammed into the stomach of one of the mages. Mighty Oak groaned and Anna was struck with a vision of her running through a forest of evergreens. Recognizing what it was he wanted from her, Anna nodded slightly and sprinted into the trees, ignoring the shouts of dismay that were followed by yells of pain and curses as they were forced to deal with Mighty Oak.

**DDDDDD**

Anna was exhausted by the time she ran across Whitefall Town and into the forest of pine trees on the far side. She had run almost the whole way here, stopping only for an hour or two at a time to allow her body some time to recover before she set off running again. The ranger heard a yell from the village behind her, but ignored it as she wove between the rough trunks of the evergreen trees. She had a déjà vu feeling and realized this had been the vision Mighty Oak had given her. Anna stopped, her legs trembled and her throat burned from gasping in the freezing air. She looked around, needing a place to hide so she could rest before she kept running.

Turning her gaze to the nearest tree Anna reached up and hauled herself up into its branches. With a shuddering sigh, the ranger leaned against the trunk and shut her eyes. In her exhaustion she never thought about the fact that her trail would be stupidly easy to follow.

A snapping sound jolted Anna from her sleep an hour after she had closed her eyes. Heart pounding, she peered between the snow leaden branches of the tree she was in to see three hooded assassins weaving between the trees, heading straight for her. The ranger mentally slapped herself for forgetting about her trail and pulled her bow out. With trembling arms, she drew back an arrow and launched it as soon as one of the hooded figures appeared. The arrow flew wide and Anna's heart sank as the three assassins immediately turned, following the arrow's trajectory to the tree she was hiding in.

"I see you, little girl," one of them called out mockingly, "Why don't you come down here so we can kill you quickly? I'd hate to see a pretty little thing like you suffer."

Anna's racing mind weighed her options. She decided that if one of the assassin's was a mage, she'd have better luck on the ground than in the tree. The ranger dropped out of the branches and landed in a crouch. The assassins were moving closer with the stalking prowl of predators who were assured their prey was cornered.

Beneath her hood, Anna's lips curled back in a silent snarl of defiance. She raised her bow and launched another arrow. The men laughed as they assumed her exhaustion had once again caused it to miss. Their laughter cut off with a few curses as the arrow hit its target of the branch above their heads and dropped a huge pile of snow on them. By the time they had struggled out from under the snow, Anna was lunging at them with her dagger out; her bow lay discarded on the ground behind her.

One assassin cried out in pain as the ranger's blade flashed out and stabbed him in the thigh, putting her shoulder behind it as the weapon shop owner of Goldenbrick had told her. The girl danced back out of range, and the stab meant for her heart sliced her arm instead. The ranger ignored the pain and used a simple gust spell to send the attacker crashing into the third assassin. While they were tangled in a mess, Anna took off running again. She knew the wound on her arm would prevent her from drawing her bow, so she left her Sky Feather bow behind.

"Damn bitch," the wounded man swore, wrapping a bandage around his leg.

The other two were also cursing as they stood up. One walked over to the discarded bow and scooped it up. He tested the draw weight and was surprised to find it was rather heavy. "Nice bow, I think I'll keep it," he commented.

The third assassin grunted, "Whatever, we need to kill her before her friends catch up. At least she's tired and it's making her sloppy; next time we'll get her."

The other two nodded and in the brief silence, they heard footsteps crunching behind them. With muffled swears, the three assassins scrambled up or behind separate trees and watched as three people walked into the clearing.


	3. Chapter 3

"Ugh, I cannot believe we just wasted almost a year searching for lost pirate treasure only to find out that that the 'treasure' was a bunch of really shiny candy wrappers," Natalie groaned as she stepped off the ship onto the wooden dock at Goldenbrick Resort followed closely by Matt.

"I know! And who the heck needs crab legs that large?" the swordsman agreed before thinking on it some, "Well, actually, I wish all crab legs were that large, but not if I have to kill the crab."

Lance jumped down next to them, stumbling slightly as his legs were not used to being on solid ground. "At least we didn't pay for that stupid map. I should have stayed here with Anna."

Natalie rolled her eyes, "So you've said every day for the past seven months. We'll be back at Greenwood soon, lover-boy." She glanced over her shoulder, "That is where we're meeting her, right?"

The gunner nodded, "Yeah, she said to meet her there since we didn't know exactly what day we'd be back."

"I hope she wasn't bored or lonely," Matt said. He stretched his arms above his head with relieved sigh. "Man, it is so good to be back on land. No more whirlpools, no more jealous pirates, no more giant crabs and jellyfish. Let's never go on a boat again."

His girlfriend laughed, "Anna would certainly agree with that." She sighed, "We did have a lot trouble for only being on that boat for a few days there and a few days back. I think the only thing we dodged was a shipwrecking."

The party headed up the stone path and into Lankyroot, still talking about their journey and what they would or would not tell Anna. Lance was all for telling her that Matt was the one who had gotten eaten by an oversized jellyfish, not him—which Matt, of course, did not approve of. They all agreed to keep the fact that they had eaten random mushrooms off the ground—and gotten high again—a secret.

Lance suddenly stopped talking to glance around the jungle with a puzzled frown, "Is it just me, or is it really cold here?"

Natalie tilted her head before frowning in agreement, "You're right, it is way too cold for a swampy jungle."

"Maybe Anna will be able to tell us what's going on, if anything," Matt said with a shrug.

"She'd be the one to know," Lance nodded, smiling slightly at the thought of seeing her again soon. He'd missed her much more than he had expected.

Natalie rounded the rock face at the edge of Greenwood first and stopped suddenly, her shoulder's stiffening in shock.

"What's up, Natz?" Matt asked as he and Lance coming up beside her. They also froze when they took in the sight of Greenwood; or rather, what was left of it. "Holy…"

Lance stiffly and silently took the first few steps into the ruined village of Greenwood. His mind had gone blank to avoid thinking about what the devastation meant. He was infinitely grateful that Matt and Natalie stayed close, a silent support for whatever they did—or didn't—find. Together, they began searching the village for any clues as to what had happened.

Almost nothing remained of any of the houses. A few blackened walls were here or there, but nothing even reaching their waists. Moss, ferns, and grass grew over everything, showing that whatever had happened here had happened quite some time ago. A huge fissure ran across the center of town, straight through the bisected halves of what was once the Greenwood Altar. Strangely, nothing grew on the blackened soil along the edge of the schism. Natalie pointed out a deep score in the ground that looked like it had been left there by a massive sword.

Perhaps the most disturbing thing of all was how utterly quiet it was. Greenwood had always been a peaceful place, but there had always been some kind of noise going on; either Lana scolding some villager, the sounds of the idols that had puttered about, or villagers chatting with one another. There weren't even any birdcalls in the trees nearby.

Matt bent down when he saw something gleaming dully in a patch of tall grass. Standing up straight, he held out the broken shaft and head of an arrow to show the other two. Lance took the object and ran a finger over the dulled and blunted head, "It probably came from Anna. I can't think of who else here would have fought back." The unspoken message was clear, though: Anna had fought whatever or whoever had attacked, and still the village had been destroyed.

Natalie shivered as she glanced around, "There aren't any bodies, though. Maybe they had a prior warning and all got away. Although, I can't think of why Anna would stay to fight whatever attacked if that were the case." It was a feeble hope, but hope nonetheless. Though the chances that the village would have picked up and moved before whatever had happened, happened were pretty slim due to the lazy nature of most of the residents.

A rustling in the bushes caused the three to whip around weapons out and ready to strike only to lower them and relax again as a lone Wooden Idol tottered out of the trees. In one hand, the small creature held a complete arrow. They stared at the creature for a few seconds before the idol waddled back into the shrubs. Lance sprang forward, Matt and Natalie close behind them. They caught up to the idol quickly, and followed it through the trees at a slow pace that had them twitching impatiently. The creature bounced across a low stream and came to a stop next to some tall bushes. It turned to face the three followers and stood, waiting expectantly.

Natalie reached out and gave Lance's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, Matt stood close to his other shoulder. The gunner cast them both grateful glances before swallowing heavily and pushing his way through the bushes. The other two followed close behind him.

A graveyard stretched before them. Dozens of graves were laid out, side-by-side; each with a single flower blooming, as was the custom of Greenwood. A few active idols tottered here and there, tending to the plants that sprouted from the graves of their masters. Natalie's hand flew to her mouth in horror and Matt let out a long string of curses. Lance stood there, perfectly still and silent, a glass statue waiting to hit the ground and shatter.

The break wasn't long in coming. He dropped his gunblade and fell to his knees, tightly gripping the grass as tears ran down his face. One of these graves belonged to Anna. She had been killed while he had been off gallivanting for treasure. He didn't even know which of these graves was hers, if she had even been buried. The thought pierced him and he squeezed his eyes shut with a sob. She had probably fought the village's assailant alone and lost. If that had been the case, then there might not even have been enough of a body to bury. Horrible images floated through his mind depicting different scenes of his girlfriend's death, each one more horrible than the last. He hadn't been here to help her, to save her, and now she was gone. He'd never see her bright smile or kiss her ever again. He'd never get to poke fun at her to see her blush, or hear her embarrassed laugh as she tried to hide her blush. Lance's sobs rose to wails of sorrow and loss.

Tears ran down Natalie's face, both for Anna's death and for Lance, whose cries broke her heart. She'd never even seen him cry before, and to see the normally strong and aloof man broken down so far cracked her heart even further. The mage dropped to her knees beside Lance and pulled him into a tight hug, trying to hold him together as he shattered.

Matt stared at the graves, listening to his friend break apart. His heart was at once breaking and burning. Whoever had done this had made themselves some very deadly enemies. He would hunt them to the ends of the world and they would pay; pay for slaughtering an entire village of peaceful people, pay for killing a member of the team, pay for breaking Lance—perhaps beyond repair. Seeing Natalie pull an unresisting Lance to her in attempt to comfort him pushed Matt to shake off thoughts of revenge, at least for now. He crouched down on Lance's other side and wrapped one arm around his shaking shoulders. He briefly met Natalie's eyes over Lance's bowed head before the gunner shook them both off and lunged forward.

A flash of steel was suddenly in Lance's hands and Matt reacted before even registering what was happening. The swordsman tackled his friend, and the pair rolled across the ground, grappling for the weapon Lance had grabbed. A punch slammed into Matt's jaw and sent him reeling with stars flashing in his vision before the feeling of Lance breaking away pushed him to ignore the pain. He blindly lunged at the gunner, catching him under each arm and grimly holding him there while Natalie wrested the gunblade out of his hands. Even after the mage had taken the weapon, Lance continued to thrash, trying to break free.

A sharp smacking sound echoed through the trees, and the gunner's struggles stopped abruptly. His head was turned to the side with a bright red mark on his cheek where Natalie had slapped him. Matt carefully stepped back, keeping a close eye on Lance for any signs of another suicide attempt. The gunner slumped to the ground, but didn't move other than to bring a hand to his stinging cheek.

Natalie stood over him, her reddening hand still raised. The mage had tears flowing down her face and her eyes were bright with both sorrow and a kind of disbelief. "What would killing yourself accomplish, Lance?" Natalie asked in a low, hard tone. Lance flinched, but didn't say anything. "How do you think Anna would feel if she saw you now, if she knew what you had tried to do? Do you think she would be happy if you died? Do you think Matt and I would be happy?"

Lance's face snapped upward to glare at Natalie, "But she _isn't_ here! She will _never_ be here!"

Natalie grasped the collar of Lance's shirt, hauled him up to her face with a surprising strength, and snarled right into his shocked red eyes, "Does that change the fact that she would be devastated if she _could_ know? Do Matt and I mean _nothing_ to you? Don't you think we would be _crushed_ if you killed yourself?" She let go of his shirt and he slumped back to the ground. "Please, don't do that again. Please," Natalie whispered.

Silence reigned before Lance spoke again very quietly, "I do care about you and Matt and I didn't think about how that would affect you. But, she's still gone, and it's my fault. If I had been here-"

"Bull shit," Matt snapped from behind Lance, cutting him off, "You did not kill Anna or the people of Greenwood. You could never have known that somebody wanted them all dead, and if you had tried to hang around Anna twenty-four hours a day to protect her, she would have blown up at you. So put that crap out of your head right now because _it isn't true._ Got it?"

There was another pause before Lance nodded ever so slightly.

Unconvinced, but accepting it for now, Matt went on, "Now, somebody or something killed these people and I'll bet they're still out there. Pull yourself together, Lance; we've got some hunting to do." He watched as his friend took a deep shuddering breath before slowly standing.

As the gunner reached for his weapon, Matt stepped in front of him, staring until Lance made eye contact. "No more suicide attempts, okay? I need you to promise that," he pleaded as soon as Lance looked at him. Something in Lance's gaze was shattered and Matt hurt to see, but the swordsman maintained the stare, needing to be sure his friend wouldn't try anything stupid.

There was something inside Lance irreparably broken now that Anna was gone. It was a fitting punishment feeling dead inside, he supposed, for failing Anna so miserably. Not that his friends needed to hear that. Matt and Natalie had a point, though; he couldn't do anything to avenge his girlfriend if he killed himself here.

He shakily swallowed before answering Matt, "I promise. You're both right that she wouldn't want me dead, too. And whoever did this to them needs to pay." Lance held Matt's gaze until he saw a slight nod and the swordsman stepped out of the way of his gunblade. The gunner stood up and wiped his sleeve across his face before stepping forward to pick up his weapon. Holding it loosely, he turned to face his friends.

Natalie looked between them, wiping tears off of her own face. "So where do we start looking? We don't even know if what happened was because of people or some monster," she asked in a quiet voice.

Matt frowned in thought, but Lance was the one who spoke, his voice tired and flat, "Let's go talk with Mighty Oak. He might know what happened here or where we should go. If not, then I guess we'll just have to ask around in other villages."

The other two nodded and stood on either side of Lance as he took one last glance across the grave-filled clearing before turning to walk towards the Shrine of the Guardian of Greenwood, head bowed and shoulders slumped.

They had almost reached the shrine when they were attacked by a group of Tanuki Dogs. Lance said nothing—his expression didn't even shift—as he took one out with a Double Shot, barely even glancing at the monsters. Matt and Natalie made quick work of the other two, but didn't stop to loot as Lance had already kept walking. They hurried to catch up to him just as he started trudging up the stairs.

"I hope we don't have to fight him again," Matt said as they neared the top.

They reached the clearing where they had fought Mighty Oak almost two years ago. The guardian stood there, a hulking wooden behemoth at the far end of the clearing. He twitched when they appeared, but did not make any other movements as they approached.

"I guess we still have his favor?" Natalie mused thoughtfully before frowning slightly, "Wait that might not be right; there isn't as much mana in him as the last time we fought. He might just be too weak."

She shrugged the thought off for later and bowed to the guardian, setting down a few Gash Nuts as an offering like Anna had told them was respectful, "Please, Mighty Oak, tell us what happened at Greenwood, or where we have to go to find out." The guardian didn't say anything, but they each got a brief vision of Whitefall Town. Natalie bowed once more in thanks and led the way to the Crystal Caverns.

Night had fallen when the three reached the entrance of the caves. Lance had not said a word the entire way there, despite Matt and Natalie's efforts to get him to talk. Matt slipped off to gather some fire wood. When he returned, Natalie had built a fire circle and was digging through her Adventure Pouch, pulling various travel food out. Lance was hunched against the cliff nearby. As soon as the wood was arranged, the mage set it ablaze and handed Matt a few strips of jerky and a couple of hard tack biscuits. She turned and held out the same things to Lance, but he didn't move.

"C'mon, Lance, you need to eat," Natalie coaxed.

Lance ignored her and lay down with his back to the fire. The mage cast a distressed glance at Matt who just shook his head slightly, telling her to leave the gunner be for now. Natalie uncertainly looked back at Lance's form curled on the ground before lowering the food and turning to join Matt by the fire. She curled into Matt's side as she forced food past the lump in her throat. Her boyfriend wrapped an arm around her and they sat there in near silence, eating. Lance was silent and still as they ate, but his two friends knew that he wasn't sleeping. Matt stood up and pulled a blanket out, throwing it over Lance.

"You're eating breakfast, no excuses. You need the strength," he warned the gunner.

Lance didn't reply and Matt sighed before turning to Natalie once more. The mage was busy setting out wards. She finished the task and turned to join Matt where he lay not too far from Lance and curled up next to him, burying her face in his chest.

**DDDDDD**

Lance was the first awake the next morning. He hadn't slept almost at all during the night; not that he had expected to. The gunner glanced over at where his two friends were curled close together sleeping peacefully, and his heart gave a painful clench. He'd never do that with Anna ever again. His mind drifted to his promise to Matt the day before.

" _They're both asleep right now. I could do it before they wake up,_ " Lance darkly considered before sighing and burying the thought. He had made a promise and he knew they would be deeply hurt if he killed himself on their watch while they slept. Instead, he stood up and slipped around the sleeping pair, heading into the trees.

Ten minutes later, Natalie woke up. She carefully removed Matt's arm from around her waist and sat up. Turning to check on Lance, she froze as she saw a crumpled blanket where he had been the night before; the gunner—as well as his weapon—were gone. Immediately, the mage started shaking the sleeping swordsman next to her, "Matt, Matt; wake up! Lance is gone!"

As soon as the swordsman snapped up with his sword drawn, Natalie jumped up. Matt stared at her blearily, but didn't start swinging his weapon around. The first few times it had happened, one almost leading to an accidental beheading of his girlfriend, Natalie had zapped him with lightning.

"What's wrong?" he asked glancing over at Lance, or where Lance's blanket lay. "Shit," Matt swore, springing to his feet, assuming the worst, "He promised! Damn it, we shouldn't have taken our eyes off him."

Natalie was looking at him with frantic tears in her eyes, clutching the discarded blanket tightly. "It's still a little warm; he can't have left too long ago."

" _He wouldn't need much time to off himself,_ " Matt thought darkly, but he kept the morbid thought to himself. Natalie didn't need to hear that. Instead, he turned to the woods, ready to start searching, only to freeze when their missing friend walked out of the trees, gunblade in one hand, a large Black Bird dangling from the other.

"Lance!" Matt cried, causing Natalie to twist around.

Lance tensed as Natalie ran towards him, relaxing slightly when she threw her arms around him. A split second after he relaxed, the mage pulled back and punched his chest weakly.

"Don't do that again," she said.

"Do what, find food?" Lance asked in confusion, the first words since suggesting they talk to Mighty Oak the day before.

Matt walked up to him, fists clenched. "No; don't disappear without a word a day after you tried to stab and/or shoot yourself," the swordsman growled. His tone was angry, but his blue eyes betrayed the relief he felt that his friend hadn't slipped off to die.

Lance glanced between the two, "I said I wouldn't, so I won't. You said I had to eat something today and I didn't want to eat weeks-old bread or magic mushrooms." His voice fell, "I also needed some space to think. I should have left a note, I'm sorry."

Natalie shook her head, "It's fine, just don't do it again." She sniffled before hugging him again, "Also, we're here if you ever need or want to talk." She pulled back to see Lance's hesitant nod.

With the matter settled, Matt grabbed the bird while Natalie rekindled the fire. Fifteen minutes later and the smell of roasting fowl filled the clearing. Soon, Matt carefully sliced chunks of meat off the roast and handed skewers to Natalie and Lance. The swordsman stuffed his share into his mouth all at once, while Natalie finished hers with neat, but quick bites. Lance held his piece, but didn't start eating. Matt cleared his throat and pointedly looked at the meat in the gunner's hands. Lance didn't say anything, but he lifted the food to his mouth and started eating slowly.

After they finished, Natalie smothered the fire and stood up to pack their sleeping gear. They then walked into the cave. A few bats swooped down to attack them but were quickly slaughtered by one firestorm from Natalie. The group passed through the large cavern of glowing crystals, but did not see Shawn, the nice researcher who had fed them bat stew and dug crystals for them, anywhere inside. They didn't stop to see if he had moved his camp elsewhere, and made their way down the next tunnel.

"I hope the bridge is repaired now," Natalie said as they approached the place where Lance and Anna had fallen at the start of their quest to stop Godcat.

To their relief, somebody had indeed come along and replaced all the bridges with new, sturdier ones. The three walked past the large stone remains of Crystal Golem; Matt commented that he had forgotten about 'the walking mine' and was glad it had stayed dead. The three stopped to change into their fur armor before stepping out into the frigid wind of Whitefall.

Apparently, there was a snowstorm blowing over the snowy village. Despite the biting wind and ice crystals swirling by, the party was stopped by a guard wearing fur-lined heavy armor and carrying a large spear.

"What is your business in Whitefall Town?" the guard demanded imperiously.

Natalie exchanged surprised glances with Matt and Lance before turning to address the guard, "We came from Greenwood. We're looking to rest at the inn after our journey through the Crystal Caverns." She smiled brightly at the guard.

"Greenwood was destroyed months ago," the man said with a scowl, ignoring her attempts to soften his demeanor. His face darkened as he surveyed the weaponry the three carried with the ease of knowing how to use them. "You were the ones you destroyed village? And now you've come here to destroy Whitefall," the guard leveled his spear at them, ignoring the stunned look on the girl's face.

Mind racing, Natalie tried to think of some way to quickly explain to the guard that he had jumped to the wrong conclusion. A sudden spike of mana from behind the mage had her whipping around. Lance was glaring at the guard with blazing eyes, his mana shooting higher and higher.

"Oh, no," Natalie murmured.

Matt followed her stare and stiffened. He moved in front of Lance, cutting off the gunner's line of sight to the guard who had unknowingly accused him of killing his girlfriend and all her people. Matt grabbed Lance by both shoulders and gave him a quick, hard shake, "Lance, calm down; he doesn't know."

For a few tense moments, Lance seemed to ignore the swordsman, his mana creating an aura around him. Matt gave the gunner another hard shake and the aura finally dissipated. Lance remained glaring when his shoulders were released, but he no longer looked to be seconds away from glassing the hapless guard.

Meanwhile, Natalie was speaking to the guard in a low harried tone, casting anxious glances back at Lance. With each word she spoke, the guard's face paled. Finally, she finished speaking and stepped back to stand next to Matt and Lance.

The guard bowed low, "I am very sorry for accusing you. I had no idea you are the heroes and are on a quest to find who committed the atrocity at Greenwood. Please go through."

Lance strode past him without a word, throwing one last cold, dead glare at the guard that left the man shaking. Matt sent his own glare at the guard as Natalie hurried to catch up to Lance. The man quailed back fearfully until Matt turned away without a word and jogged through the snow after his friends. Natalie and Lance hadn't gone very far before he caught up to them. Both were staring at something on the ground. Matt looked to see what they were staring at and gaped at the tracks of a large creature scattered around the Whitefall Altar. Despite the heavy snowfall, none collected on or directly around the tracks.

"What kind of creature can leave tracks that don't get covered?" Natalie murmured, kneeling down to touch one. She snatched her hand back with a yelp that made both Matt and Lance jump and stare at her. The mage held her hand up for them to see. The skin on her fingers was red and blistered as if she had touched a burning stove. Natalie murmured a healing spell, and hissed with pain when the wound burned before slowly healing.

"We need to find out what people here have seen," she said as she stood up and looked over the scene once more.

Matt glanced at Lance to see what he thought, "Aren't we supposed to be finding whoever butchered Greenwood?"

Lance stared at the tracks. "Whatever attacked there burned the place to the ground," he spoke slowly. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember what the village had looked like, "And there was that huge fissure right across the altar there. I don't think whatever did that was human. Maybe whatever was responsible for that made these tracks too."

Natalie frowned, "It's possible. But, why didn't it destroy this place too?"

The gunner shook his head, not having an answer for that, "Let's ask the innkeeper about this while we get our rooms."

**DDDDDD**

"You want to know about the tracks at the altar? A person wearing a black clothes and a hood asked about that shortly after it happened. Nothing new has come up since then, but I can tell you what I know," the woman standing at the desk said as she handed them their keys.

"They appeared there overnight about two-and-a-half months ago. Nobody saw or heard anything unusual that night, but the next day it was discovered that the Jewel was gone," she paused as the three travelers glanced at each other before mage nodded for her to continue, "The weirdest part is that they're only around the altar. They don't show any trail of where the creature came from or where it went; like it just appeared, took the Jewel, and vanished. And that's all I know."

Natalie thanked the woman before following Matt and Lance upstairs. The three stepped into the guys' room and flopped onto various surfaces, thinking about what they had learned.

Matt rolled over onto his stomach on the bed, "Great, another huge threat to the stupid Jewels; a threat that can teleport."

"It might have flown away," Natalie suggested in a hopeful tone.

Lance shook his head, "Somebody would have seen it if it had flown in and out; the tracks are huge."

The mage frowned, "Maybe it was invisible?"

Matt groaned and buried his face into the mattress. "Ugh, don't jinx it. The last thing I want to fight is a giant, flying, invisible, jewel-stealing menace," his muffled voice said.

"I doubt it was invisible; Anna attacked it, after all. Well, if it was the thing attacked Greenwood, anyway—which is likely if it's after the Jewels," Lance said, his face tightening at the thought of Anna. He frowned thoughtfully, "But, why didn't it attack everyone here? What was different?" He saw Natalie's eyes widen suddenly from some unspoken thought, "What?"

The mage swallowed, "What if it attacked because Anna was there?"

Matt sat up to join Lance in staring at her.

"Think about it," Natalie urged, "if it knew that Anna was instrumental in retrieving the Jewels last time, it might have wanted to remove her as a threat. That would explain why Whitefall was left untouched; the people here aren't a threat."

Matt stiffened suddenly, "Wait, so do you think it will come after us next?" Natalie shrugged and nodded. "But, it might not, right? After all, we haven't even seen the thing, much less been attacked by it. And it's been almost two years since we brought the Jewels back; why now?"

"Anna was alone," Natalie reminded him quietly, trying to ignore the stricken look on Lance's face; this needed to be said, "It might have been waiting until we split apart so it could take us out easier." She met both of their gazes, "The timing might just have been a coincidence, but I think we should stay within each other's sight at all times, just in case." The other two nodded solemnly. Natalie tried to lighten the mood, "Now if only we hadn't just bought two inn rooms."

Matt let out a laugh, "You can sleep with me, Natz."

"Fine, but keep it down," Lance said. The joke was there, but his tone was flat.

Natalie decided to take it as an improvement, and threw a pillow at the gunner in mock-anger. Lance threw it back before slipping out of his fur armor to dress in more comfortable clothes for sleeping.

"Lance! Wait until I turn around," Natalie said loudly with a blush, turning her face away only to find Matt frozen with his shirt already off.

The mage buried her burning face into the pillow and mumbled something unintelligible. A few minutes later, and she demanded they not look while she slipped into a set of loose pajamas, only to find Matt staring at her when she finished pulling the dress over her head. Natalie smacked him with a pillow before she burrowed under the blanket.

A small snicker was heard from Lance and the pair both looked over at him, to find he still had his back turned, but was already lying down. Matt gave Natalie a victorious grin as he reached over her to put the light out. He then snuggled down under the blanket and wrapped one arm around the mage's waist and fell asleep.

Lance listened to the pair's breathing for a while as they fell asleep before he rolled over to face them. He knew that all the stupid humor just now had been for his sake and he was struck with how lucky he was to have such caring friends.

"Thanks, guys," he breathed, even though he knew they wouldn't hear it, and slowly fell asleep.

**DDDDDD**

A quiet click followed by the soft creak of the door opening woke Lance from his restless slumber. The gunner could hear Matt's light snores coming from the other bed, so he assumed Natalie had gotten up for some reason. Rolling onto his back and opening his eyes to remind her not to go anywhere alone, Lance was shocked to find that it wasn't the mage who had opened the door.

Standing over him, holding a sharp dagger that gleamed in the faint light from the hall, was a cloaked figure; their face was hidden in the shadows of a large, black hood. The assassin noticed he was awake and swiftly brought the knife down, aiming for the gunner's heart.

Lance threw himself to the side, feeling the blade scrape past his side as he moved. He felt the familiar sticky feeling of blood leaking from the slash on his ribs, but ignored it to lunge up and grab the assassin, wrapping both hands around the wrist of the hand holding the weapon. The assassin pinned Lance to the bed with one hand on his throat. He ripped his other hand out of Lance's grasp and raised the knife one more.

Pausing to lean down, he whispered in his victim's ear, "I love when they struggle. Too bad your friends won't be able to do the same."

Lance's eyes widened in horror and his leg lashed out as he bucked in a desperate attempt to dislodge the assassin or to break free from the strangling grip on his throat. His foot slammed into the nightstand, knocking it over with a loud crash. Matt and Natalie both sprang up at the noise to find their friend struggling with a hooded figure who was holding a knife overhead. Matt lunged across the space between the beds and tackled the assassin off of Lance. The assassin's head smacked into the overturned nightstand and he was knocked unconscious. Matt kicked him sharply in the head to be sure.

Meanwhile, Natalie was already checking Lance for wounds and found the bloody slash on his side. Lance was coughing on the sudden air that rushed into his lungs as he massaged his bruised throat to restore the blood flow. A second later and he felt Natalie's healing magic wash over him.

"Thanks, Natz," he said between hacks.

"Anytime," that mage said. She turned to watch Matt tie the would-be murderer's hands and feet together with strips of his nightshirt, "What happened?"

Breathing under control, Lance related about how he had been woken up through them waking. "I thought I was goner and you guys were next," Lance admitted, "Thanks for the save, Matt."

The swordsman scoffed, "Like I would just sit there and not do anything while some nut-job murdered you." He glared down at the intruder, "So what do we do with this guy? Turn him over to the inn owners?"

"That would be best; I don't want the people here thinking we kidnapped some guy to question him. We can ask them to interrogate him on why he wanted us dead," Natalie agreed.

Matt hauled the man out the door, followed by Lance and Natalie. He took no care to make sure the guy's head didn't whack every step on their way down. He dumped their captive at the feet of the stunned night worker.

"Can you wake the owner? This guy just tried to kill my friend while we were sleeping," Matt said, nudging their captive with one foot and gesturing at Lance who had a haggard face with blood staining the side of his arm.

The person practically tripped over themselves as they scrambled to do as Matt asked. Soon, the frazzled innkeeper came running past to call the town guard. A few minutes later, and two heavily armed men carried the assassin away with promises of letting the party know what they found. The innkeeper tried to return their money to apologize for the trouble, but Natalie politely refused; saying that it wasn't his fault somebody had tried to kill them—ignoring Matt's pout at the refused refund.

"It's insane. A while back, right when the jewel was stolen, somebody wearing similar clothes asked about the incident. I didn't see their face, but they seemed nice enough. Not the sort to murder people while they slept," The owner said, running a hand through his bedraggled hair.

Lance frowned thoughtfully, "The lady we spoke to when we got our rooms mentioned that person, too. What can you tell us about them?"

The man shrugged, "Not much. It was a young woman wearing all black with a hooded cloak and armed with a dagger and a longbow. She was very polite as she asked her questions and paid for one night, but didn't once take her hood off I saw. She left early the next day. I haven't seen or heard anything of her since."

Lance nodded before turning to the others, "I guess try to go back to sleep, and hope the assassin talks. We can sleep in Natz's room."

The innkeeper bade them good night and promised a free breakfast when they woke up, much to Matt's delight, and they headed back upstairs. Matt passed out again as soon as his head hit the pillow, but sleep was long in coming for Lance and Natalie.


	4. Chapter 4

Matt, Lance, and Natalie stood before the same two armored guards that had taken the assassin away the night before, each wearing an expression of disappointment. The guards had just finished telling them that somebody had thrown a knife at the prisoner during the interrogation, killing him before they got any useful information out of him; whoever had silenced him had gotten away. The only definite piece of info they had was that he had been part of some group called 'Origin.'

Natalie thanked the guards for telling them and watched as they clattered off before she turned to Matt and Lance. "Well, now what?" she asked with a sigh, "That was our only lead."

The pair shrugged and Lance opened his mouth to say something when the owner of the inn they had stayed at walked up to them. The man looked nervous about approaching them while they each wore aggravated expressions, but still stopped in front of them.

"I wanted to let you know that some of my patrons today claimed to have seen a single woman wearing a cloak run into the woods south of here early this morning. They also said she was joined by three other hooded people a few hours later," the man told them quickly. He relaxed as their faces spilt into relieved grins.

"Sweet, we were just wondering what to do now," Matt said looking over at Lance and Natalie, "Thanks, old man!"

"Matt, you don't call people 'old', it's rude," Natalie chided with a sigh and an apologetic look at the inn owner. The man waved off the insult and wished them a good day before he left. "So, on to the woods, I guess?" the mage asked.

Lance nodded and they headed south. The tracks of a group of people heading into the trees were easily visible in the snow and the three followed the trail, weapons drawn and ready. They were surrounded by massive evergreen trees on all sides that blocked out most of the sunlight. Beneath each tree were patches of dirt and pine needles as the ground was protected from the heavy snowfall by the broad branches of the pine trees. Their footsteps were silent on the spongy blanket of pine needles and crunched when they stepped in the snow between trees. The only other sounds they heard were the occasional calls of unseen birds.

Suddenly, Lance stopped and knelt down. Natalie and Matt crowded close to see what he was looking at. A small pool of blood was staining the dirt. The gunner stood up and looked around. Now that he knew someone had been attacked here, he began to see the signs of the struggle. There were muddy scuffs from boots slipping and a single arrow was lodged in the dirt a little ways away. Some kind of struggle had happened here and he wished his girlfriend was still alive; she would be able to read what had happened. Shoving the pain of loss to the back of his mind before it made him do something stupid that couldn't be undone, Lance glanced around again. He turned to the other two and immediately barked for Matt to duck.

The swordsman threw himself down just as a dagger slashed past his head, slicing off a few strands of hair. While on the ground, Matt kicked out blindly and felt his foot connect with somebody's leg. As the person cried out Matt sprang back to his feet and moved to stand nearer his friends; Natalie on one side, Lance on the other. His eyes fell on the person he had kicked to find a man clutching his bleeding leg. Matt briefly wondered how the heck his kick had caused the man to bleed before a rustle of movement drew his attention back to the impending fight.

Two other figures dropped out of the trees and stood behind the man on the ground. All three wore hooded cloaks similar to the person who had attacked them at the inn. One carried a dagger with blood staining the blade and another dagger lay in the snow next to the moaning man on the ground. The third, to Matt's shock, held a sword in one hand and Sky Feather in the other. He heard Natalie inhale sharply on his right while Lance stiffened on his left.

"Where did you get that bow?" Lance asked in a soft, frigid tone that belied the sudden burning rage sweeping over him.

The hooded figure glanced at the weapon in his hand before laughing. He realized that the three in front of him were his target's friends.

Matt gripped his blade tighter, lifting it threateningly, "What did you do to the owner of that bow?"

" _Even better,_ " the man thought, laughing harder, " _they don't seem to know that their little friend is still alive._ " His companions saw where this was going and let out sinister chuckles, even the man wounded on the ground.

The man with Sky Feather stopped laughing, "I killed her and took it, what else? Now if you don't mind we're a little busy tracking a rat." The three heroes in front of him stiffened.

"She put up more of a fight than the rest of her pathetic village, at least," said the man wounded on the ground. A sudden force hit him and he stared down in disbelief at the two blades stuck in his chest before he died.

Instantly, the other murderers slashed out at Matt who ducked back, sliding his blade out of the corpse, to deflect the dagger strike. A second later and the man incinerated before he could even scream as Natalie called Hellfire down on him. Lance had the last person's blade locked against his own. Angling his gunblade slightly without breaking the lock, he pulled the trigger and a shot rang out, killing the third assassin.

The party stood there glaring with rage at the two corpses and ash pile. Lance bent down and picked up Sky Feather. His grip on the bow tightened until his knuckles where white and trembling. He spun around suddenly, "There's someone else in this forest, someone they were following. Let's see if we can find them; they might be able to help us track the rest of these bastards down."

Matt and Natalie stared at the determination and rage in his eyes and nodded. They followed the one set of tracks that headed away into the trees.

**DDDDDD**

Anna slumped against the rough bark of a thick pine tree, shoulders heaving and muscles screaming for rest. Gripping the wound on her arm, the ranger grit her teeth as blood flowed between her fingers. She needed to heal it, but her healing magic made too much noise. Footsteps pounding through the trees broke her attention away from her wound. Anna's heart plummeted; she'd never be able to get away again. She sent a silent farewell to her friends as the footsteps came closer.

Three people burst out from between the trees, freezing as they saw her spin around with her dagger held in front of her, blood from the assassin she'd stabbed earlier still staining the blade. Three people she was not expecting, but was dizzy with relief to see. Anna's arm dropped. She swallowed once, twice, and then a third time before she spoke in a trembling voice laced with disbelief, "…Lance?"

Anna watched, puzzled, as Matt's and Natalie's faces suddenly paled as if she were a ghost. Lance's face was expressionless, but the ranger got the feeling that he was just as stunned, if not more so, at hearing her. She wondered what their deal was. Yes, she hadn't expected to see them here; in fact—for a few moments—she had expected to never see them again. But, her being somewhere unexpected shouldn't have garnered such profound shock from her friends.

Feeling safe for the first time in forever, Anna tugged her hood down, "Guys? Are you okay?" They didn't say anything, just stared at her. Lance approached her slowly as if he were afraid she'd vanish if he moved too suddenly.

**DDDDDD**

After a short while of jogging, the three spotted a lone, cloaked figure leaning against a tree, clutching their arm. A bloody dagger was held loosely from the hand of wounded appendage. Just as they approached, she spun around, dagger raised and pointed at them. The three froze, not wanting to be attacked when they had come to help, and eyed the weapon. To their surprise the cloaked woman froze upon the sight of them and her arm fell back to her side, weapon loose in her hand before it dropped to the ground. For a few seconds Matt, Lance, and Natalie stared at the shadowed face of the person as the stranger seemed to stare back.

Time stopped when she spoke in a familiar voice, "…Lance?" Matt's and Natalie's eyes widened with shock at hearing a voice they had all been too sure they would never hear again.

Lance's mind shut down at hearing her voice. Logic told him that it was impossible that the person standing in front of him was his dead girlfriend, come back to life. For one thing, Anna had never used daggers before. And for another, he had seen Greenwood's devastation with his own eyes and there had been nothing to suggest Anna had escaped the massacre. It wasn't possible. And yet, the woman had clearly recognized them; she'd even called out to him first.

Even as his mind struggled with the sudden impossibility, the woman pulled her hood off. Tears filled Lance's eyes as he stared at Anna's face. There were huge shadows under her eyes, she was thinner, and her face looked exhausted, but it was definitely Anna. The gunner took two hesitant steps forward in case this was just some cruel hallucination. A shuddering gasp from Natalie as Anna asked if they were okay told him that she saw and heard the ranger, too. Lance lunged forward and crushed Anna to him, burying his face in her shoulder as the tears in his eyes suddenly flooded down his face.

"Wh-whoa! What's wrong?!" Anna shouted as Lance suddenly lunged forward, grabbed onto her, and started crying. Looking past her sobbing boyfriend she saw Matt and Natalie were crying, too. The ranger tried to back up, but Lance tightened his grip on her. She resigned to stay put as she asked, "Seriously guys, I'm shocked to see you, too, but what the hell is with the waterworks?"

Her only answer from any of them was some sniffling. Anna started struggling, trying to break away from Lance to ask what the deal was, but froze when he whimpered. She'd never heard Lance make a noise that even remotely sounded like that, and the pain in it made her own eyes water.

Finally, the stress and fear of the last few months, the anguish of having failed her village so completely, the loneliness she had suffered, and the exhaustion she felt for having been running for days on end snapped out of the tight hold she'd had it under. Anna's knees gave out and she collapsed to the snow covered-ground, dragging Lance down with her, and she started sobbing.

For ten minutes after even Lance had calmed down, Anna cried. Now that she had started, she couldn't stop. Lance's tight hold loosened enough for him to pull back slightly to kiss her forehead. Matt and Natalie knelt on either side of her and wrapped her in a hug. A hiss of pain from the ranger was what finally broke through her sobs. Natalie pulled back to see the blood running down Anna's arm. Flipping into being a healer, she demanded Anna sit up straight so that her wound could be checked. The sudden personality shift caused Anna to burst out in watery laughter that sounded slightly hysterical.

Lance was reluctant to let his girlfriend go now that he had found her alive, but Natalie snapped that wounds took priority right now and he released Anna. He stayed right next to her as her wound was healed, staring at the impossible miracle that was her being alive.

Anna had calmed down during the process. She sighed half-annoyed and half-content as Lance pulled her back into his arms as soon as Natalie finished healing her arm. "I know why I started crying, but what was with you guys? You looked like you'd seen a ghost when I spoke," Anna asked, wiping her face on her shoulders.

Matt was the one to answer in a subdued tone, "We did." Anna blinked in confusion and the swordsman elaborated, "When we got to Greenwood, we found the place burned to the ground and a graveyard nearby. We were sure you had been killed."

Natalie spoke next, "We thought you'd gone out fighting against some huge monster, but then the three people we just fought claimed they were the ones responsible for killing you and the villagers. Either way, we thought you were gone."

"And then some hooded figure spoke in your voice," Lance said quietly, "I didn't think it could be true, but it was; you were alive the whole time."

Anna's swallowed as she heard that they'd believed she had been killed alongside the rest of Greenwood, "Well, obviously I'm not dead; dead-tired maybe, but not dead-dead." Her voice fell, "I didn't even think about what you guys would assume when you found Greenwood like that. I should have left some sign, something to tell you guys that I had made it, but it didn't even occur to me. I'm so sorry."

Lance hugged her tighter, "It doesn't matter now. You're here, you're alive; everything is good for now."

"Better than it was," Natalie murmured. She stood up, "Now let's make camp. I know it's early, but I'm freezing, hungry, and tired. Anna can tell us what's been happening after we have a fire."

Anna stood as well with a sigh, "I guess I have to sooner or later." She retrieved her dagger from where she had dropped it in the snow next to her.

Matt gathered some branches and they made their camp right where they were. Soon a crackling blaze was warming them and they munched on some of the food the inn owner had given them. Anna devoured her share even faster than Matt, oblivious to the worried stares her friends shot her way until she looked up.

"I, uh, haven't exactly been eating well," Anna said with a sheepish laugh.

"Or sleeping well; you have some impressive shadows," Natalie said with a worried look.

Anna's face fell, "I've been avoiding towns, people, everything for months now. Being on the run doesn't exactly leave lots of opportunities for sleeping and eating." She glanced around at her friends, "You mentioned that some cloaked weirdos said they killed me along with the rest of Greenwood, right?" At their nods she went on, "A while back we got a warning from a traveling seer about a coming threat. I'd thought at the time he was just another fraud, but he wasn't. I figured that even if there was a threat coming, I could handle it on my own. But, I couldn't."

Her friends frowned, wondering who could have warned Anna and what about.

"A giant creature split the ground at Greenwood. I fought with it, but couldn't hurt it. The monster was what burned the village. That must have been four, almost five, months ago, now," Anna paused off to let out a hollow, broken laugh that had Lance wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "That long already, huh? Anyway, I held it off—well, more like played bait—while the villagers fled. The thing just vanished while it was hunting me. I ran after the villagers, but-"

Anna's voice broke and her shoulders hunched, trembling. Lance squeezed her shoulders as he listened with rage and horror, having a fairly clear idea of what was coming.

After a few seconds the ranger continued in a flat voice, "They were waiting for them. Some of those cloaked assassins caught and killed all of them; slaughtered them like cattle while I was trying to buy them time to run." Tears formed in her eyes as she remembered. Her voice was brittle as she went on, "When I found them, the bastards were still standing over the bodies and they laughed at me, laughed as they stood soaked in the blood of almost everyone I had ever known."

Matt and Natalie stared at Anna as she gazed into the fire, not really seeing the flames. They knew she was seeing her people and reliving the overwhelming rage and hopelessness she must have felt at the time.

"I snapped and killed all five of them," Anna said in cold, dead voice. "After that, I dug graves and buried the villagers," her hands came up to cover her face. "It took so long; there were so many bodies." She took a few deep breaths. "I went to Goldenbrick to find the seer, Dramal. He told me about what the monster was, but he knew nothing about the assassins. He told me about his vision of the monster and called it the Primordial. Dramal explained that impure magic will hurt the monster, but will also make it stronger. It's true, too; magic doesn't work very well on it—I tried. Then he told me about some ancient weapons that could be used to defeat it. After that, I ran. I ran, hid, and stayed away from civilization as much as possible, waiting for you guys to come back."

Lance frowned, "We heard that a hooded woman stopped by Whitefall a month ago or so asking about the Jewel. That wasn't you?"

Anna looked up, "No, that was me. I heard about the Jewel being stolen from a merchant and wanted to check it out. I'm almost positive that the Primordial took it; the tracks match its feet." Her face darkened, "Going there was a mistake. The same day I left town, two assassins followed me on my way back to Greenwood. I disabled them and tried to get some answers. One of them started talking, but his companion killed him before I could learn much. I got their group name and found out that they had somehow called the Primordial to Greenwood."

"Did they call their group Origin?" Natalie interrupted quietly, causing Anna to start with surprise.

"Yes, they did. How'd you know?" the ranger asked.

Matt was the one to respond, "They tried to kill us in Whitefall last night. We turned the assassin over to the guards, but all they got out of the bastard before someone killed him was that name."

"Did you learn anything else from the two that attacked you?" Lance asked. Almost immediately he wished he could take the question back as he watched Anna's face tighten further and a haunted look came into her eyes.

"He told me that they killed everyone in Greenwood to 'break me', but I had already left when they came to finish the job," Anna murmured. "They've been hunting for me this entire time, but it wasn't until I stopped in Whitefall that they started attacking me. I ran into them again when I was giving thanks to Mighty Oak—I had gone back to the village to check on the Jewel and he was my last stop. He sent me here, but I don't know why; maybe because he knew you guys we're coming." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "I don't even know if he made it. They were still attacking him when I ran and those three earlier were part of the group that were fighting him."

Lance was quick to reassure her, "He was fine when we saw him." He smiled as Anna's face broke into a smile for the first time since they'd sat down.

"Yeah, he was a little drained when we came to ask him about what had happened, but he was doing okay. He sent us here," Natalie chimed in.

Anna sighed with relief, "That's good; I've been worrying about him since I left there two days ago."

Matt spoke up suddenly, "Wait, you've been running for two days now?" Anna nodded and the swordsman gaped at her, "Have you been eating or sleeping?" The ranger shrugged and muttered something about catnaps, "How are you not unconscious right now?"

With a bitter snort Anna said, "Panic tends to help with ignoring little details like eating and sleeping. I didn't have the luxury of time to stop; there were six of them and one of me. Besides, I've been running on little sleep and food for four months; what was two more days compared to that?"

Matt's reply was to hold out another strip of jerky to the ranger. The ranger laughed as she took it and stuffed the tough meat in her mouth while Lance and Natalie rolled their eyes. Anna sighed as she snuggled closer to Lance. She knew she had missed them a lot, but now that her friends were here she wondered how she had even survived during those long months after her life fell apart. As she listened to the heartbeat drumming next to her ear, Anna suddenly wondered with a thrill of fear that perhaps she was dreaming this reunion up.

Lance felt Anna stiffen against him a moment before she pulled back and sat up, an unnamed fear in her eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked her with concern. Matt and Natalie echoed his question.

The ranger refused to meet their eyes, "It's nothing."

"You look terrified of something so it obviously isn't 'nothing'," Natalie flatly countered.

"Okay, then it's stupid," Anna stubbornly tried.

Lance frowned, "I highly doubt that it's 'stupid', either."

Anna's eyes flickered up and around at them before falling back down again. "I wanted you guys here so much the last few months; you have no idea how much. It was the only thing that kept me going most days. Now I'm not sure this is real. I'm afraid that I'm going to wake up soon and be all alone in some tree, cold, hungry, and miserable. I don't want this dream to end," she admitted in a small and scared voice.

Her friends glanced at each other sadly, unsure of how to handle this new fear. Finally, Lance reached out and tilted Anna's head up with one hand on her chin. He held her gaze seriously for a few seconds before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her lips.

Lance pulled back and watched Anna's face, "This is not a dream. We're here and we aren't going anywhere without you. I refuse to lose you again." His eyes were filled with sadness and determination.

Matt spoke up next, "What he said, but without the kiss. Ow!" He yelped as Natalie elbowed him.

Natalie turned to Anna with a smile that grew a little wider as the ranger laughed, "This," she motioned at the four of them, " _we_ , are real. I know that having us say that probably won't convince you completely. You'll have to see it for yourself when you wake up in the morning and see that we're still here." Anna swallowed, but nodded hesitantly.

"Speaking of sleep, I'm sure you need some. We can talk more in the morning, okay?" Lance suggested.

Anna pulled her bedroll out and spread it on the pine needles under a nearby tree. She crawled inside the roll and held it open, smiling as Lance squeezed in behind her and pulled her against his chest. The ranger watched as Matt and Natalie curled up under both their blankets close by and fell asleep. Despite her exhaustion, Anna stayed awake, still fearing that her dream was coming to an end.

Lance was still awake behind her and could tell by her tense form that she wasn't sleeping. He began rubbing a soothing circle on her arm and smiled as her body relaxed against him and her breathing slowed as she finally drifted off. Keeping the little motion going, Lance contemplated the day's events. He could sympathize with Anna thinking their reunion was a dream; he felt the same way and the only thing convincing him it wasn't was the fact that Matt and Natalie were there. His mind slowed as sleep started to claim him and his last conscious thought was how glad he was that she was alive and safe and here in his arms again.

**DDDDDD**

Anna slowly came back to consciousness the next day to warmth pressed against her back and around her waist. She sighed and snuggled closer to the heat source, letting her mind come to alertness on its own. The ranger's face pulled into a little frown as she heard voices speaking nearby with hushed tones. Instinct born from months of traveling alone forced her mind to snap fully awake, and she tried to sit up to see who was nearby. The pressure on her waist tightened, holding her down, and Anna began to panic.

"Shh, it's just Matt and Natz," Lance sleepily murmured into her ear.

Anna quit struggling as she remembered that she had been reunited with her friends the day before. She let out a small relieved laugh, "I guess you guys were right: it wasn't a dream." She felt Lance nod against her head. "Well, now that I know that, mind letting me up? I want some food," Anna asked lightly.

Lance groaned, "I'm comfy."

"And I'm hungry, pleased to meet you," Anna replied with a grin. She giggled as she attempted to squirm away from his reprimanding poke.

With one more groan, Lance let go of Anna's waist and watched her crawl out of the bag and walk over to where the other two were sorting through a pile of plant life they'd brought back. The gunner ducked his head into the sleeping bag and inhaled Anna's scent as he waited for the impending fireworks.

They weren't long in coming, " _None_ of these are edible! Matt, put that down, it'll make you throw up; and before you say anything, yes I'm sure. Please tell me you didn't eat any of these? I'm down here, Matt, and I guess that answers my question."

Lance snorted in amusement and finally emerged from Anna's bedroll to see Natalie with her face buried in her hands, muttering, and Matt looking around dazedly with wide eyes and dilated pupils. Anna was standing over the swordsman with her hands on her hips and an amused and exasperated smile on her face.

A quick heal spell from Natalie had Matt back at attention, and he looked around in confusion. "Where'd the flying penguins go?" he asked.

Anna shook her head as she burst out laughing. "I missed you guys so much, although I'd hoped that you would have learned what's edible and what isn't by now," the ranger said with a grin. She sighed, "I give up. Let's just have a standing rule that nobody eats any plants unless I brought them back." She grinned as Natalie muttered in agreement.

The mage turned to Anna, "Did you sleep okay?"

"Better than I have in months," the ranger replied, the shadows under her eyes were much lighter and her face was covered with a wide smile.

"And do you still think you're dreaming?" Natalie asked.

Anna smiled a bit wider, "Nope."

Lance released a relieved sigh at her at response, "That's good. Any idea of where we should go now?"

Anna chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "Let's go to Goldenbrick. I doubt their Jewel is still there, but I want to check just in case. Plus, I'd like you guys to meet Dramal," she decided, moving to pack up her things.

She strapped her dagger to her waist and started digging through her Adventure Pouch as she commented, "I wish I hadn't left Sky Feather behind yesterday. Oh, well." The ranger turned when Lance coughed pointedly to see him holding her missing bow out to her, "I love you so much right now. How'd you find it?" Anna said with a bright smile.

"Took it back from the bastards yesterday," Lance said. "I've been meaning to ask why you have a dagger now, by the way."

"A group of guys tried to mug me in Goldenbrick," Anna said nonchalantly, "Apparently, lone girls only carrying a fancy bow as their weapon are easy targets." She grinned at the glare Lance gave to a nearby tree, "Don't worry, I showed them. Anyway, I'd been taught to use a dagger in the past so I bought a couple as thief deterrents. It's a lot more effective than stabbing things with arrows." She shrugged, "I'm not very good with them yet, though."

Lance nodded thoughtfully, "Matt and I can probably help you. Daggers are a lot different from swords, but having a couple sparring partners should be helpful."

"You got that guy yesterday just fine," Matt added. He grinned suddenly, "Yay! Now we have a reason to steal-" he cut off with a swift glance at the two women, and hastily adjusted his statement, "I mean _buy_ daggers!"

Anna and Natalie sighed, but didn't bother getting any more upset with the swordsman.

**DDDDDD**

A week later, the party walked into Goldenbrick. All of them were in high spirits; Anna wasn't dead, they were back together, and they had a destination. There were still nights when the ranger woke up from nightmares, but they were getting less vivid and Lance was always there to comfort her. The gunner didn't want to let Anna out of his sight, but the ranger could understand his paranoia.

Each evening, Anna sparred with Matt or Lance and was beginning to get the hang of using daggers. They couldn't teach her how to wield the dagger properly, but they could point out holes in her guard and she was slowly working out what did or didn't work. Lance had commented that she'd probably be fine against most monsters and people, but cautioned her to stay back and use her bow unless she absolutely had to fight in close quarters.

They had stopped by the Greenwood Graveyard on the way and she had heard Matt say something to Lance in such a serious tone that she wondered what it was about. " _I never want to see you try that again,_ " he'd said with Natalie nodding fervently. The conversation had come up as they told her how they had found the graveyard and Anna had said something about how they must have felt .That night, the ranger had tried asking them what they'd meant, but they had just said to ask Lance. Anytime she questioned him, though, he just flinched slightly and said he'd tell her later.

The sandy streets of the resort were empty as the four walked to check on the Jewel. A chill wind blew down alleyways with an eerie moaning sound and the party shivered. They turned the corner leading to the altar and saw, to none of their surprise, that the Jewel was gone. Once again, the ground around the altar was covered in massive clawed footprints.

Lance eyed the tracks carefully, "You never actually told us what this Primordial thing looks like. How big and nasty of a monster are we tackling?"

Anna shuddered as she remembered the monstrosity, "Very big and very nasty. It was taller than all of the houses in Greenwood, had three dragon-like heads with no eyes, massive fangs dripping with acidic saliva, thicker around than Mighty Oak, and has two scorpion tails. The worst thing of all was that none of my arrows could pierce it."

"It doesn't have wings or turn invisible, right?" Matt asked anxiously.

The ranger shot him a strange look, "Those are weirdly specific concerns. It doesn't have wings and I'm pretty sure it can't turn invisible, but it might be able to teleport. It just vanished suddenly at Greenwood, as do any tracks I've seen from it, so maybe."

"How'd it set Greenwood on fire and what happened when you tried magic on it?" Lance asked.

"Each head does a different element of attack; fire, lightning, and ice. I mostly saw the fire one, but it did do the other two once or twice," Anna replied. "I tried an Aqua Arrow on it when it attacked me. The arrow shaft broke, but the magic left blisters on its skin; it also got stronger."

Natalie frowned, "What does it want with the Jewels, though? I thought they were just to keep Godcat sealed?"

"We should have destroyed those things," Lance grumbled.

Anna shrugged, "I have no idea. Dramal told me to find a temple underground, but he didn't know what was there or where to start searching for it. I'm hoping he might have had another vision."

"Then let's go to this seer guy and ask him," Matt said and started walking.

"Wrong way, Matt," Anna laughed as she turned down an alley to the slums.

The walls became closer and closer together the further they walked. Many of the buildings were in shambles with cracks running up the walls or had broken windows and doors. A number of shady characters loitered around despite the chill, eyeing the party as they passed.

Natalie looked around uncomfortably, "You came looking around here for a person you'd only met once?" She sidled closer to Matt as a wolf whistle came from a group of drunks.

Lance frowned, eyeing a pair brawling in an alley, "I don't think I like the idea of you having poked around here alone."

The ranger waved a hand dismissively, "I found Dramal at the altar and he led me to his house. There weren't even any people outside here, then." She suddenly snorted and complained, "The tavern was where I had trouble. First, the barkeep eyed me like I was a tasty piece of meat and asked if I wanted to have a good time."

Her boyfriend gaped at her, "He did _what_? That's it, where is he? I'm going to kill him." He glared at Natalie when she laughed.

"You can put away the overprotectiveness, Lance; I told him I have a boyfriend and he backed off. Sort of," Anna muttered that last part.

"What was that?" Lance suspiciously asked.

Anna smiled innocently as she led them down another alley, "What was what? Anyway, after I left the tavern, some guys who saw me there tried mugging me and I had to get away from them; they were why I got a dagger." She sighed, "The moral of my tale is that men are pigs—present company notwithstanding. Well, usually, anyway."

Matt piped up, "That, or girls shouldn't wander around busy towns alone."

"Well, it wasn't like I could get in touch with you guys," Anna heatedly reminded him.

The swordsman shrugged, "Touché."

Finally, the ranger came to a stop in front of a dilapidated building right at the edge of Goldenbrick. She reached out and knocked on the door a few times. There was a brief silence before a small peephole slid open briefly and closed again. A few seconds later and they heard the clicking of a lock and the door swung open. Standing before them was an elderly man with bushy, white eyebrows and a long, white beard. He warily looked past the party, down the alley before standing back and ushering them in. The four filed inside and watched as the old man closed and locked the door before turning to face them.


	5. Chapter 5

"I am glad to see you are well, Anna," the old man said to the ranger with a warm smile.

Anna smiled back, "The same to you, Dramal. How's your cough these days?"

"Oh, no worse than when I saw you last, but no better either," the man said before turning his attention to the three people the ranger had brought with her. "These are your friends I take it?"

"Yup, this is Natalie, Matt, and Lance," Anna said, gesturing to each person as she named them. The three nodded a hello. She looked back at her friends, "Guys, this is Dramal."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. I cannot tell you how pleased I am that you are back and have reunited with Anna. I have been very worried about her safety since I last saw her three months ago," the old man said, smiling at the three. He moved to the part of the single room house that served as a sitting area and settled down on a stool, "Please find a seat wherever. I'm sorry the space is so small." Anna and Natalie claimed a couple of floor cushions while Matt and Lance opted to remain standing.

As soon as his guests were situated, Dramal cleared his throat, "So what brings you back here?"

"There are a couple of reasons," Anna started, "I wanted to know if you have any more information on that underground temple or the weapons. I tried asking the people I met on the road about them, but no had ever even heard of the temple and very few people knew anything about the weapons."

Natalie cast the ranger a puzzled glance, "What's this underground temple? You never did elaborate on that."

"You didn't tell them?" Dramal asked with a small frown.

Anna blushed and mumbled, "I mentioned it, but forgot to explain in detail until we got to Goldenbrick. Oops."

"We were a little caught up with other things at the time," Lance said with a shrug.

The seer hummed, "I see. I imagine her joy at finding you three was the distracting factor. I'm sure her tale was shocking for you three as well." He glanced at Anna, "She seems to be in far better spirits now that you have returned. She blamed herself for the fate of her village, and I admit that I was very concerned for her mental and physical wellbeing when she left."

Matt's head snapped around to stare at Anna, "Please tell me you didn't try what Lance did."

The ranger frowned, "Is this about that warning you gave him at the graveyard?" At Matt's nod, she shrugged, glancing at Lance, "I don't know, maybe; he won't tell me what happened. What did he do?"

Natalie shot a frown at the gunner, "You haven't told her, yet?" Lance's silence and inability to look at any of them was her answer.

Dramal looked between Matt, Natalie, and Lance. None of the three looked willing to share what had happened. "He attempted suicide, didn't he?" the seer finally asked in a somber tone.

There was a long moment of silence before Matt admitted in a subdued murmur, "Yes, right after we found the graveyard. He had his gunblade in hand ready to do it when I tackled him." He shivered, "It was a near thing."

Anna leapt up and twisted to stare at Lance. The gunner's face was drawn and pale and he refused to meet her gaze, choosing instead to stare blankly down at his feet with haunted eyes. The ranger knew that Lance had been devastated when she'd been believed to be dead, but she had never thought he would try to kill himself. Anna swallowed heavily, realizing just how serious a mistake her failure to leave some sign she was okay had been. Briefly, she wondered what she would have done if Matt and Natalie had been the only ones to find her.

A chill ran through her and she said, "Never again, Lance. Never." The ranger turned to Matt and Natalie, "I am so glad you stopped him. I… don't think I would have recovered if he had succeeded, or if something had happened to one of you." She shook her head, voice falling to a whisper, "He tried to- if only I had left a sign of some sort. My incompetence almost killed someone else."

Lance's head snapped up. "My suicide attempt was _not_ your fault, and neither were the deaths of Greenwood's villagers, so don't you _dare_ try to feel guilty for any of it," he said vehemently. Anna merely looked to the side. "I mean it, Anna. I doubt that you were thinking clearly after you found your people like that, and in the months after you were on the run. The fault for my trying to kill myself is mine alone for believing you were dead without solid proof. And you _definitely_ did not kill the people of Greenwood, so stop thinking you're to blame _right now._ "

Dramal cut in sharply, "I told Anna this when she was here before and now I will tell you: assigning blame is useless. You clearly love this woman very much if her apparent death drove you want to die, but blaming yourself—or anyone else—will not help anything."

He then turned his gaze to Anna, who was still staring guiltily at Lance, "Anna, you did not kill the people of Greenwood. What happened was far beyond anyone's control and what you should be spending your time and energy on is preventing it from ever happening again, and bringing the ones truly responsible to justice—not trying to find someone or something to blame. Lance was clearly in very good hands with Matt and Natalie and now you are together again." He paused until he was sure that both Anna and Lance were listening, "Continuing to try to pin the blame on yourselves will only hurt you both, so stop it."

Natalie spoke up quietly, "He's right, you're only hurting each other and Matt and me, and I don't want to see it anymore. What's done is done so please stop and let's focus on fixing the problems we can fix, okay?" There were a few moments of silence before the pair nodded faintly. After shooting a look at Lance, Anna reclaimed her seat on the floor cushion. "Good. Now, please tell us about this underground temple, Dramal," Natalie asked.

The seer gave a small shrug, "Unfortunately, I haven't-" his sentence broke off as his eyes glazed over and his breathing became shallow.

Anna sprang up once more and reached out give Dramal's shoulder a shake, but he didn't respond. Lance and Matt pushed away from the wall with concerned frowns while Natalie joined Anna next to the unresponsive seer.

"What's wrong with him?" Matt asked.

Natalie shook her head and raised her staff to try a healing spell. She hadn't even started when Dramal spoke. His voice was low and distant sounding to the four watching him:

" _In the maw of earthen fangs,_

_Where light cannot be found._

_A secret rests in waiting,_

_Hidden far beneath the ground._

_A place of truths forgotten,_

_'Meaning lost within the past._

_A message to the future,_

_Should the present seek to last._

_Though none remain who know the way,_

_To save us all from True Despair._

_But when the night becomes the day,_

_Find the path 'neath Godcat's stare._

_The path you seek will open wide,_

_With hope restored by what's inside."_

With a shuddering inhale, Dramal's eyes slid back into focus to blink at the four staring at him.

"Are you… okay, Dramal?" Anna asked hesitantly, her eyes sweeping over the seer's wrinkled face.

The old man smiled faintly, "I suppose I just had a vision. I feel fine, thank you. I'm sorry for startling you." His voice had returned to normal.

Natalie's eyes brightened with interest, "That was a vision? Are they triggered by related events? Maybe it has something to do with the temple."

The other three perked up at the thought before subsiding some as Dramal shook his head. "It is possible, but not certain. I have had visions completely unrelated to the goings-on around me." He laughed suddenly, "Once, I was chatting with a lady selling apples and I broke off in the middle of the conversation to spout something about a chained god of death. Needless to say, she was quite disturbed."

Matt laughed, "I would have loved to see her face!"

Lance cleared his throat, "Getting back to the cryptic words you just spoke, do you think they're related to the temple? ' _In the maw of earthen fangs_ ' seems to be referring to a cave." He ignored Matt's muttered 'spoilsport'.

The seer nodded, holding one fist over his mouth to stifle a cough, "In this case it is likely that the words refer to the ancient temple I dreamt of months ago. I do not know of any caves like that around here, though."

"The Crystal Caverns looked kind of like mouth; at least, from the Greenwood side," Natalie suggested.

Lance shrugged, "Yeah, but the light never falls directly on the entrance there. Besides, I think we would have seen a magic entrance opening up last time we were there." He frowned, "It might be at the ruins where we fought Godcat."

The old seer spoke up, "I doubt that. The line " _Find the path 'neath Godcat's stare"_ seems more like a clue to find the cave rather than where the cave is." He coughed more heavily, shoulders shaking.

Natalie frowned at the display, "Anna mentioned a cough earlier. Are you okay?" She cast a critical healer's eye over the man and her frown deepened as she spotted many signs of a wasting illness.

"I will be with some of my medicine," Dramal assured her. When the mage merely raised one brow, he sent her a sharp look, "I'll make some after you four go. I cannot help you more with finding the temple other than suggest you search the ruins above Goldenbrick." He paused as the four nodded and went on, "However, I can tell you that I heard a passing merchant speak of a strangely-shaped sword he had come across. He was upset that he couldn't bring it to sell because he could not lift it from the altar he had found it on."

Anna's face lit up, "That could be Equilibrium! Did the merchant say where he saw the sword?"

Matt perked up, "Ancient and powerful swords? Point the way!"

"Maybe they should tell us about the weapon, first, Matt," Natalie suggested with a grin. She turned back to Anna, "The fact that it was too heavy to lift makes you think it's one of these legendary weapons?"

Lance muttered sarcastically, "Are you sure Matt will be any different from anyone else?" The swordsman's elbow shot into his side and the gunner elbowed him back.

"Children, please," Dramal said with a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "Anna assures me that Matt is very strong and it cannot hurt to at least check. The sword is deep in the Crystal Caverns so perhaps after you search the ruins here you can check there for the temple there while you search for the Equilibrium." He turned a shrewd eye on Lance, "I've been told you possess one of the weapons already, Lance."

Natalie whipped around to stare at the surprised gunner, "Really? You've had a super awesome weapon this whole time and haven't been using it?"

Lance shrugged with a huff, "First off, all of my weapons are 'super awesome'. Second off, if I have it already, which I doubt, then I didn't know what it was when I picked it up." He looked over at Dramal, "What's the gun called? At least, I'm assuming it's a gun."

"Super Snipe," the seer told him. He observed as Lance's face darkened some, but the gunner remained silent, "Anna says you've had it for some time, but won't say where you got it from."

Anna flinched guiltily as Lance sent her a half-hearted accusatory glare. The gunner sighed and admitted, "Yes, I have a rifle called Super Snipe. I don't use it much because it has no added element damage, but it's very lightweight and has amazing range, so it's good for ambushes." He blinked as the seer's eyes widened, "Does that match the gun you told Anna about?"

Dramal nodded, "May I see it?"

With a sigh, Lance reached into his Adventure Pouch and withdrew the long, black rifle. He stepped forward to show it to the old seer, holding it easily with one hand.

The man reverently touched the side of the gun, "It _is_ the legendary gun. I had thought the weapons were just myths, but they aren't." He peered up at Lance, "Where did you find this gun?"

A flash of some unusual emotion flared in Lance's eyes before his jaw set stubbornly and he wiped his face clean of any expression. A few awkward moments passed in silence, and the gunner stepped back again, stuffing the large rifle away. Lance's three friends shared confused and slightly concerned looks, but didn't say anything.

Finally, Dramal spoke, "Whatever the memory, you clearly despise it. I merely wanted to know in case there were clues that could lead to the weapons. They were forged at the same time, you see, so it is possible that they were hidden at the same time as well."

Lance still maintained his stony face and stepped back to lean against the wall.

Dramal sighed, "Very well, but please consider telling your friends at some point, In the meantime, it is getting late. You four should head to the inn and set out early tomorrow for the ruins." He blinked, "Unless there was something else you needed to know, Anna?"

The ranger shook her head, "No, other than the weapons and the temple, I just wanted them to meet you. You were a huge help to me after the events at Greenwood. Thank you again for all your aid. We'll leave you to take your medicine and I guess we'll see you tomorrow evening after we get back from the ruins."

The old seer smiled, "You are most welcome. And thank you, it was a wonderful chat. Farewell and good luck in your search—and anything else that comes after."

With that, the four friends filed out into the dark streets of the slums of Goldenbrick. Now that night had fallen, the temperature had plummeted even further and the four shivered as a biting wind whipped down the alley.

"Man, this is supposed to be a tropical resort! Why's it so cold?" Matt complained as they hurried down the narrow and winding paths, headed for the inn.

Anna shook her head, "You're right, it is really cold. The sooner we get to the inn, the better." She stopped suddenly, "I just realized that they probably won't be serving food at this hour and I'm hungry."

"Me, too" Matt said as his stomach rumbled loudly at the mentioning of food. "Any food places open right now?"

The ranger hesitated, glancing at Lance, "Well, that tavern I visited last time is probably open still. They have some nice food there."

Lance smirked, "And maybe that barkeep will be there. I need some target practice."

"You can't kill or maim the bartender for hitting on your girlfriend, Lance," Natalie said with a sigh as Matt snickered.

Anna grinned as she led the way through the slums back to the main street. "If we see the muggers again, you can attack them, okay?" she assured a put-out looking Lance.

Stepping onto the wide street, the ranger turned and headed for the only building that still had light coming from the windows and under the door. She pushed the thick, wooden door open and light and sound spilled into the road. She stepped inside, followed closely by the other three. Unlike the first time Anna had been there, the tavern was packed, despite the late hour. The four wove between the crowded tables and claimed a recently vacated spot near the back of the room.

Soon, a harried-looking waitress came to take their orders. After a brief listing of choices, the four settled on sandwiches and various beverages. Lance firmly overrode Matt's request for beer, citing that they needed clear heads, and that no, Matt was not a better fighter when drunk. The two had a brief glaring match before the swordsman sighed in disappointment and changed his order to a soft drink. The waitress gave a small grin and promised to be back shortly with their drinks and food.

Matt settled back to glaring at Lance who proceeded to ignore him in favor of scanning the crowd for any trouble. The gunner jumped when Matt kicked him under the table and proceeded to stomp on the swordsman's foot in retaliation. Their small fight was ended when one of them accidentally hit Natalie and she zapped both of them. Anna laughed at the two men's expressions.

"At least the inn will probably be deserted still," she said, looking across the mass of people packed inside the building.

Natalie turned from glaring at the two stunned men and looked over at the ranger, "Why would it be deserted?"

With a small shrug Anna explained that the cold weather was apparently bad for tourism. The bonus was that the last time she had been here, it had been easy getting a room and she had gotten it for cheap. By that point the waitress was back with their food. She set the plates and drinks down on the table and bowed. By the time she stood straight again, Matt had already fit half of his sandwich into his mouth. She stared as he swallowed the half-sandwich whole and started on the second part before realizing she was being rude and told them to wave if they needed anything as she left. For a few moments there was silence as the party tucked into their food

"You know, I think Matt might be part snake," Anna suddenly said in a conversational tone between bites of her sandwich, "He seems to be able to unhinge his jaw to fit extra food in, and I don't think I've ever once seen him choke as he swallows." She grinned as Natalie burst out laughing and Lance tried to avoid spitting his energy drink across the table. Matt swallowed the other half of his food and stuck his tongue out at the ranger. "See? He even does the tongue thing!" Anna laughed.

Natalie tried to stifle her laughter to defend her boyfriend. She failed when Matt adopted an indignant look as he crossed his arms with a huff. Instead, the mage leaned over and kissed his cheek, calming to a few chuckles she said, "Don't worry, Matt, I still love you; atrocious table manners and all."

The swordsman grinned and was about to say something back when he saw Lance stiffen. Following the gunner's stare, Matt saw a group of drunken people at a nearby table pointing at the back of Anna's head. He frowned and was about to mention it to the ranger when Lance pushed back from the table and threw some money down. The gunner caught Matt's eye and shook his head faintly.

"We're done eating, let's go to the inn now," Lance said. The other three shrugged and stood up. Leaning closer to Matt, Lance explained, "There's too many people in here and I don't want to pay for damages after we beat them all." The swordsman grinned and led the way as they wound around the tables and left.

The four had only made it partway down the street when an angry voice called out. "Heyou, green-haired bitsh," the voice said in a slurring tone.

Lance stiffened at the insult and spun around to glare at the group, " _What_ did you just call her?"

There were six men standing there with glazed glares. They swayed unsteadily on their feet as they watched the party. The leader spoke up again, "I shayed green-hairded bitsh. She moshed, mockshed, mocked us lash time we shaw her."

"Figures that they would be in the tavern at the same time I was there," Anna muttered as she turned to face them. She sighed as she watched the swaying men, "And they're drunk this time. Lovely." With a shake of her head the ranger turned to Lance, "That's pretty standard as far as insults at me have been, Lance. You'd think they would think up something new, once in a while. Points for the slurring, I guess."

"These are the guys that tried to mug you before?" Natalie asked with a frown.

Anna shrugged, "Well, there are three more now, but the leader and the guys flanking him are the ones I ran into before. They weren't drunk at the time, though."

Matt's nose scrunched up as the wind blew the heavy smell of alcohol their way, "Yuck, they stink. I don't suppose they'll just go away, huh?" The swordsman stepped up next to Lance as the men pulled out various blades and moved closer.

The group stopped and glared at the two fighters standing in their way. One slightly less drunk man spoke up, "Move over, boys, our fight isn't with you."

Lance's eyes were hard as he replied, "Maybe not, but you called my girlfriend a bitch and tried to mug her before. Now your fight is with me, too. Matt, you can get the other five; I'm punching the leader's lights out."

"Sounds good to me, Lance," Matt replied with a grin.

One of the drunk's eyes widened and he backed up, "Matt and Lance? That means…" he dropped his weapon and stumbled even further back, "You didn't tell us you wanted to pick a fight with the god slayers, boss!" With that, the man turned and unsteadily ran away.

"Get backsh here, coward!" the leader roared after the fleeing man. The other members of his group shifted uneasily as they vaguely began to realize how outmatched they were. The leader glared at the remaining men, "They can'tsh be the godshlayersh. Everyone knowsh the wimp from greem-, glensh-" he growled as he failed to pronounce Greenwood, ignorant of the glares he was receiving from the party, "whateversh that village wash called, gotsh killed."

There was a sharp cracking noise as Matt's fist flew into the guy's nose, breaking it. Stepping back and shaking his hand, he glared at the rest of the drunks as their leader moaned on the ground, blood running between the fingers he had clasped over his nose. "Sorry, Lance, my hand slipped," the swordsman said.

"It's okay. That was a better right hook than I could have managed, anyway," Lance said with a shrug. He glared at the remaining drunks that fearfully milled about. One step forwards was all it took for them to start staggering around and into each other in their panicked haste to get away.

With matching snorts, the two men turned and rejoined Anna and Natalie, leaving the moaning leader on the ground with a broken nose. Lance slipped an arm around Anna's shoulders and they continued on their way to the inn. As Anna had suspected, getting rooms for the night was easy and cheap. There was a brief debate about whether they should all pack into one room or not to be safe. The innkeeper gave the party a strange look and suggested a pair of rooms with a door connecting them. Natalie glanced at the other three before nodding and handing the money over. The four headed up stairs to their joined room and flopped down on various chairs and beds.

Anna, who was lying on her back on one of the two beds, rolled over to stare at where Lance was sitting on a chair. "So what's the story with Super Snipe," the ranger asked quietly.

Immediately, Lance stiffened. "I don't want to talk about it," he muttered stubbornly.

"It can't be that bad," Matt reasoned. He broke into a grin, "I bet it was a hand-me-down from his daddy." The swordsman didn't notice as Lance's face darkened.

Natalie snorted, "I doubt that, Matt. I'm pretty sure Lance would have mentioned a family by now if they gave him an awesome weapon. He probably had to go on some long and embarrassing errand and found it along the way."

Anna frowned as Lance's fists clenched and his shoulders stiffened even further. "Guys, stop teasing him." She gave her boyfriend a worried look, "Lance, are you okay?"

Lance gave a sharp nod, but didn't say anything.

"Are you sure? We're here to listen if you want, and I'll personally smack the next person who mocks you. Maybe we can help," Anna offered.

The gunner gave a derisive laugh, "Not unless you can go back in time. You want to know how I got the damn rifle so badly, then fine. It won't help with finding the others, though." Lance sent Matt a glare as he went on in a heavily sarcastic tone, "You could say it was a present from dear old dad. Matt and Natalie have been trying to get my past out of me for years so why not let it all out now?" He paused to glare as the two gave him an interested look. "My oh-so _loving_ father thought that raising a kid meant training him from age five to be some kind of emotionless soldier," Lance spat.

The bitterness in his voice made the other three cringe as they stared at him.

"Most children get to have toys, and sweets, and trips to the beach with their families. I got to have survival training and hands on experience with all kinds of nasty chemicals and monsters, and if I screwed up in any way, I was beaten. My only family was my father—mom died when I was seven, which was probably a blessing for her," Lance said in a dark voice. "While other kids got to go play with their friends, I was busy learning the best ways to break all the bones in a human body—with a live demonstration on my own arm. Every time I screamed, he told me ' _good soldiers don't show emotion_ ' and broke another bone."

Matt's jaw dropped and Lance let out another empty laugh, "Oh just wait, it gets better. One day, when I was eight, he got me a pet dog; a cute, little, brown puppy with rings around his eyes. I named him Scout and he let me play with it and raise it for years. That dog was my best and only friend."

Anna shivered at his cold, dead tone. She had a sinking feeling that she knew what was coming up. The ranger stood up and pulled an unresisting Lance over to sit on the bed. She wrapped an arm around his waist and found the gunner was shaking even as he cast her a look of gratitude.

"Five years later, dad told me to kill Scout. I refused, of course, and that made him angry. He shot me in the leg three times," Lance paused to roll his left pant leg up to show them three faded scars on his calf. Anna tightened her grip on his waist as he heavily swallowed. "I still said 'no' so he shot my dog right in front of me. I remember crying and screaming and asking why would he kill my friend."

Natalie's hands flew to cover her mouth as she stared in horror at Lance.

The gunner's eyes were distant as he continued, "He told me that if I had done as he said and stopped feeling then he never would have killed my dog. He told me this was a lesson—that friends always failed and emotions were a detriment to being strong. And I believed him. For the longest time I blamed myself for Scout's death. I thought that if I had been better, stronger in the way my father had wanted me to be strong, then my friend would still be alive. I quit caring about things, people, myself to an extent. He taught me that having emotional attachments led to pain, so I avoided getting attached. A year after I learned that final lesson, father deemed me ready and he gave me the Super Snipe rifle. He turned me loose and I traveled around, gaining strength, avoiding people. No one could challenge me, and anyone who tried didn't get a chance to try a second time."

Lance glanced sideways at a stunned Matt and Natalie with a half-smile, "That changed after I lost to you two, obviously. And then, when I started traveling with you, I figured it was an ideal arrangement. It made me stronger, being on a team, but I tried to avoid seeing you as friends. That didn't last. You were so… different. You were both immensely strong, but you didn't cut yourselves off from your emotions and things you liked. You didn't spend your time trying to figure out the most effective an efficient ways to accomplish some goal. Fighting was something you did because you enjoyed it and the spoils it won you. It helped, having people around who could show me that."

The two gave him matching grins.

Lance turned to Anna, "A large part of the reason why I jumped straight to suicide so quickly when I thought you were dead is that I thought I was responsible for your supposed death. It was like Scout all over again, only worse. I wasn't strong enough to prevent someone close to me from dying." Lance closed his eyes and swallowed, trying to push the memories away again with minimal success. "And that's the story," he whispered.

There was complete silence in the room. Anna wrapped her other arm around Lance and pulled him tightly against her. She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. Pulling away, she looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Thank you for telling us. And for the record, your father was dead wrong. You aren't weak for having emotions, and what happened back then was never your fault." She eyed him more seriously, "And whether you think you are responsible for what happened in Greenwood, or not, I don't, and I don't blame you, and I still love you."

Lance opened his eyes to give Anna a look of immense love and gratitude. He bent down to give her another quick kiss. "Love you, too, Anna," he quietly said.

Matt was still staring at Lance, horror shining in his eyes. He felt incredibly guilty for his earlier jab. "I'm sorry, Lance," he murmured, "I shouldn't have made fun of you; especially not like I did. I should have known that you had a good reason to not want to talk about your rifle or past. Your father was sick and wrong; I hope you realize that."

"I do. I figured that out years ago, early on in our travels," Lance assured him. He shrugged, adding, "And it's probably a good thing you pushed me into talking. Even if I tend to avoid thinking about it, it feels good to finally have off my chest."

Natalie shuddered, "How can _anyone_ do any of that to that to a _child_?" She gave Lance a long look, "You were–a _re_ way stronger than I would or could have been in that situation. I am so glad you managed to come back from that at all. Matt and I might have given you the exposure you needed, but ultimately you pulled through to make the right decisions on your own. I am so glad you did, too."

Lance gave her half-smile, looking fairly uncomfortable with the praise, "Thanks, Natz. I try to remember that a lot what I learned back then is useful now and not think about _how_ I learned it." He sighed, "Unfortunately, I have no idea where he got the rifle from. I guess we'll just have to go to the ruins tomorrow and then head back across Lankyroot to the Crystal Caverns." The other three nodded.

"I guess so," Anna said. She let out a yawn and glanced around at the others, "I'm exhausted. Who's sleeping where? Girls in one and boys in the other, or do you need some cuddling, Lance?"

The gunner snorted, "Cuddling? I'd never call it that." His face softened, "I would like to stay with you, though." He glanced over at Matt and Natalie, "If that's alright with you guys."

"Have at," Natalie said with a smile. "Matt and I will take the other room. Goodnight, you two."

The couple stood up and left for the adjoining room, leaving the door connecting them slightly ajar. Anna pointed at the corner and waited until Lance was standing in it with his back turned before pulling her dress off. To her complete lack of surprise, Lance had twisted his head to stare at her. Anna threw her dress at the gunner with a scowl and red cheeks. Her lips twitched into a grin as he smirked at her before turning back around. She pulled on a pair of loose shorts and a tank top before she crawled under the blanket, and tucked her dagger under her pillow.

"Your turn, you perv," the ranger said with a huff of amusement.

Lance laughed as he swiftly changed into his own sleep clothes. "Admit it: you liked it," he said with a grin, sliding under the blanket behind Anna and pulling her to his chest.

"Of course, I just absolutely _love_ when guys gawk at me while I'm in my underwear," the ranger sarcastically drawled.

The gunner nudged her, "I hope you're only referring to me when you say 'guys'." He felt Anna's back shake with suppressed laughter.

"Well, duh, I only like it when it's you staring at me. I hope you know that you've been an awful influence on me," Anna said with a smile in her voice. She shifted closer to Lance and said, "Now go to sleep."

"Yes, ma'am," Lance said, causing Anna to giggle again.

The ranger listened contently as Lance's breathing evened out. Shortly after, his body relaxed completely and Anna smiled. Snuggling down, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

It was early the next morning that the four walked into the ruins of Godcat's Temple for the first time in two years. They carefully scoured the walls and pillars, searching for something that could be fulfill the line ' _Find the path 'neath Godcat's stare._ ' So far they hadn't seen anything remotely looking like cat's eyes, but they still had the mountain side as well as the catacombs to search. They spread out in each room they went through to make the search go more quickly.

"I really hope it's actually here at all," Matt muttered. He shoved a stone slab blocking the way through a door with a grunt. He peered inside the small room for a few seconds before ducking back out. "Just some dusty benches," the swordsman called out.

"Nothing behind the rubble over here," Anna informed. Her voice perked up, "I did find a small box with a few gems in it, though."

Lance sighed as he ran his hands over a wall, searching for any secret passages. "This is going to take forever," he complained.

The three whipped around when Natalie let out a small shriek. The mage had been clambering over a pile of stones only to find out that the rocks were actually a dormant golem. She tumbled to the ground and sprung to her feet, unleashing a Blizzard spell on the construct. Ice spread over the golem, freezing it in place. An arrow flew across the room to shatter the frozen monster.

"Thanks, Anna," Natalie called. The mage sighed, "I don't think there's anything in this room either. Lance is right: the way we're searching right now takes too long. I think we should only thoroughly check the rooms that seem like they used to be important."

Matt shrugged, "Sure, but how do we know what rooms those would be? Everything looks the same: broken rocks, dust, and monsters."

"More ornate than usual carvings would be a good way to decide. That, or rooms that haven't been looted of their valuables," Anna suggested. She glanced at Matt, "And _check_ before picking up anything up."

"Hey, I always check!" Matt exclaimed defensively, "Well, except when I don't." The swordsman blinked, "Wait, what about that giant crystal statue of the winged cat I tried to take last time?"

Lance snorted, "It's probably still there, and probably still trapped. Don't touch it."

"Not what I meant, Lance," Matt grumbled, "I was thinking that maybe that statue is what we're looking for."

The other three paused in their searches to stare at the swordsman for a few seconds.

"He has a point, that's really the only thing that sticks out in my mind from the last time we were here," Natalie mused thoughtfully, "Well other than fighting Godcat, of course."

Anna jumped down from the crumbled wall she had been searching through, "Let's go check it out!"

"I hope there aren't any more dragons in there," Lance muttered.

The party made a direct path for the trap. The monsters they passed were content to leave the adventurers alone, so long as they kept their distance. Soon, Anna was peering inside the cave. She waved her hand and headed inside. The bones of the dragon that had swallowed Lance still lay on the floor. The crystal statue of the cat still stood on its pedestal, glittering in the sole pillar of light. Anna pushed some mana into the crystal hanging around her neck. The gleaming green light illuminated pillars, statues, and arches some glittering material. Almost all of the structures were in perfect condition, still.

"Wow! Those are so pretty!" Natalie exclaimed. She walked over and placing a hand on one, only to pull back almost immediately. "They're made of ice," the mage said in shock.

Anna's jaw dropped, "Really?" She stepped over and touched one, "Sure enough. How the heck haven't they melted?"

"They must be enchanted. That's some impressive magic, to still be working after so long," Lance said. "Now, then, where is that statue staring?" the gunner mused aloud.

Matt walked around to the front of the statue, taking care not to touch it. He glanced over a few lines of faded text on the pedestal before shifting his gaze up to the clear, diamond eyes. The crystals glittered in the light, almost seeming to watch the swordsman. Matt shivered at the eerie effect and turned to see what fell under the statue's gaze. He walked over to the opposite wall and ran a hand over it. "Hey, Anna, come over here so I can see what I'm doing," Matt called.

The ranger walked over, followed by Lance and Natalie. The four ran their hands over the wall until finally giving up when they couldn't find anything.

"Damn, I was hoping we were onto something," Lance sighed. He stepped back and looked up at the wall. The gunner frowned, "Wait, what's that hole up there for? It has too straight of edges to be natural."

Natalie moved to stand beside Lance and peered up, "Dunno, it's too small to crawl through. There's a carving of a sun and a moon surrounding it. Maybe there's a switch in there?"

"I hope not, it's too high up to reach," Matt complained, squinting at the strange mark.

"Hang on, let me try climbing up one of these arches," Anna said, moving back to find one that could be scaled. "Hey, Natz, can you pull out your own crystal so I can still see the hole from over here?"

The mage waved and did just that. Soon a bright orange low lit up around the three on the floor.

"Remind me to string that on something when we're done here, Natz," Anna said as she squinted at the hole in the wall from atop the icy arch she was seated on. "I think I see something small in there. It looks like… a pressure plate, maybe?" the ranger called down, "Should I try to hit it?"

Lance, Matt and Natalie exchanged brief glances and nodded.

"Yeah, can you keep the sighting picture in your mind? I don't want us to be standing next to this wall, just in case," Lance called back.

"Sure, gimme a sec," Anna said. She stared at the wall, memorizing where her target was. The ranger pulled out her Sky Feather and nocked an arrow, pulling it back to it the right draw to hit the center of the hole. "Okay, come on over here," Anna called. She held the bow and arrow steady until her friends were clustered beneath her, eyes intent on the now black space.

The ranger released the arrow, and watched it zip away into darkness. There was a dull _clunk_ sound as the arrow struck its target. The crystal cat statue glowed brighter and then twin beams of pure light energy shot from its diamond eyes. The magic slammed into the wall and the whole section simply vanished with a soft chiming sound to reveal a stone staircase, spiraling downward. The crystal cat dimmed down again.

Matt let out a low whistle, "Nice shot Anna. And that was some hidden entrance."

"Yeah," Natalie said, "I don't think anyone would even begin to think that statue was anything more than a trap."

Lance frowned, "What could be back there that needs such tight security, though? I mean: three dragons, a ridiculous shot, and a magic statue? And even if people got in here and managed to avoid those dragons, they'd probably just fall for the trap of nabbing the statue."

Anna slid down to stand beside the other three. "It happened, too—a lot. The room I fell into back then was covered in old skeletons." She stepped forward, gesturing for the others to follow, "I guess the only way to know is to look, huh?"

Natalie nodded, "Keep your guards up, guys. Remember those rings at the Lankyroot Ruins? I wouldn't be surprised if there's something like that here, too."

The four friends carefully made their way down the stone steps with Anna's green crystal lighting the way; the light casting long, dancing shadows from the stalactites covering ceiling. They paused every few steps to listen for any enemies, but all remained silent. On and on they walked until finally, they came out into a large room.

As soon as Anna stepped off of the stairs a shimmering light formed to light the room. The four looked around to find the source of the glow, but it seemed to just be. The light didn't cast any new shadows and nothing shone any brighter than anything else. It was almost as if the darkness had simply lightened upon their entrance. The eerie lighting revealed more sculptures of winged cats, made of ice, and flanking the doors. Covering the walls, ceiling, and floor were strange murals and carvings.

Anna knelt down to run a hand over a shallow relief on the floor and marveled at the completely unmarred carving. "I don't think anyone or anything has been down here in thousands of years," she murmured.

The ranger stood straight and walked to the other end of the room, staring around. The other three spread out to check the murals. Matt and Natalie each took one side, while Lance craned his neck back to look at the ceiling.

"I found some writing over here, but I can't read it," Natalie called, frustration in her voice.

Matt crossed the space to come look at it. He shook his head at the strange characters, "I can't either; I don't think I've ever seen this text before." He stood back and looked over the wall, "I wonder if it has something to do with the picture above it?"

"Probably; all of the pictures have at least one or two words written on them." Lance called from where he had shifted his search to the floor. He peered closer at a line of the strange text, "I feel like I've seen this writing somewhere before…"

Anna spoke up in a distracted tone, "It's the same as the stuff we saw the last time we were here. You know, when we found my Black Widow bow and Matt's Devil's Sunrise?" She was busy staring at a line under a picture of a very familiar monster.

Natalie snapped her fingers, "You're right these characters look the same as back then." The mage glanced over at the ranger, "Think you can translate it?" She frowned when she didn't get a response, "Anna?"

The ranger jolted, "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure, I can read it. I spent a large chunk of my time while you guys were gone relearning the language to keep me busy. I'm still a little shaky, but I can translate it much more quickly now."

"Are you okay?" Matt asked, "You seem very distracted."

"I'm fine. I just… got caught up in a memory," Anna said quietly.

Lance looked over in concern at her subdued voice, "Something unpleasant, I take it?"

"You could definitely say that," Anna quietly agreed, "This mural here talks about the Primordial. It even has a picture of the thing."

The other three whipped around in shock and ran over. They gaped up at the massive picture that dominated the wall. Whoever the artist for the mural had been, they had captured the Primordial in perfect detail. Matt, Lance and Natalie shivered at the monstrosity. It had a long, low, reptilian body with massive clawed feet. Twin tails curved over the monster's back to end in jagged spikes. There were three heads set on the ends of long, writhing necks, each with fanged maws and a crown of spikes; strangely, they didn't seem to have eyes. All three mouths were depicted using their three different elemental breaths of fire, ice, and lightning. The creature's coloring was a mottled grey-black with white fangs, horns, and claws. A small, glowing figure was carved in the center of the rendering of the attack, deflecting the blow off of a magical barrier. Below the tiny form were carvings of people bowing and praying; miniscule compared to the Primordial's body. Three familiar Jewels, three unfamiliar weapons, and one familiar rifle were placed around the monstrosity's form.

"Holy hell…" Matt breathed staring at the mural.

"Please tell me that the size comparison is an exaggeration," Natalie whimpered.

Anna shook her head, "That's about right from what I can remember."

Lance turned his head to stare at her, "I forgot that you've fought this thing once already."

A peal of humorless laughter came from Anna. Her three friends jumped at the sound and stared at their laughing friend; her eyes, though focused on the carving, were distant and angry. The sound echoed around the room until it seemed that there were multiple sources of noise.

" _Fought_ would imply that I had done anything to it, or could have done anything to it," Anna said bitterly. "I launched an arrow at it almost as soon as it appeared, but like I told you earlier: it did _nothing_." She snorted, "Well, I suppose it changed targets; that's something." She shook her head, "I regretted that almost instantly. I don't think I mentioned this before, but it caught my side on one of its claws—tore a huge gash in my skin."

Natalie turned her head to stare up at the depiction again, "I think most people would immediately have died from fright."

"It didn't give the first guy a chance to do anything that nice," Anna said lowly, "It tore him apart. Literally."

"Don't tell me anymore, I might decide to hide under a rock," Matt mumbled.

The ranger turned away with a shrug, "I already told you guys everything I know about it. Let me see what I can learn from the murals." She glanced over her shoulder to find the other three watching her. "You might as well make yourselves comfortable. This will take some time."

The next several hours were filled with Anna's mumblings as she struggled to decipher the ancient writing on the walls. Occasionally, the ranger would pause to rub at her eyes or her temples, but would soon jump right back into translating. Matt was lying on his back, sleeping. Natalie was nodding off where she sat against the wall. Lance silently stood by the entrance to the room, keeping an ear out for anything that might try to come down.

Finally, after three circuits around the room, Anna released a long sigh. "I think I've got it," she announced in a tired and strained voice.

Natalie snapped awake and stood up with a stretch and a yawn. Lance pushed off of the wall he was leaning against and shook Matt awake, jumping back to dodge a wild sword swing. The three gathered around the mural Anna stood in front of. The picture depicted a black, formless mass with a vague shape of a head at the center.

"This one talks about the beginning of the Primordial," Anna explained. "It says that before the earth was here, there was nothing but a black cloud, said to be the aura of an ancient force of chaos."

She moved onto the next frame. The image showed the familiar form of the creation Godcat floating above the black cloud. "Here, it says that Godcat simply appeared one day, drawn to the immense power exuded by the primeval force. She needed a center to be the basis for her new world." The ranger gestured up to a series of panels that led up to the ceiling, "Those talk about how Godcat's pure mana forced the cloud into taking a solid form. Apparently, chaos is weakened by pure magic. In its natural state it's formless, but highly susceptible to binding with magic. Godcat seized that weakness and forced a large portion of the untamed essence into becoming the Earth."

Matt frowned and glanced down at his feet, "Wait, so we're walking on the Primordial at all times?"

Anna shook her head, "No, the forced mutation into another form is permanent; the Primordial can't reclaim the essence that was tainted by Godcat's mana." She waved a hand at the next huge panel, "That's explained on that one over there. Chaos became enraged by Godcat's theft of its power. It shifted itself into the form it bears now because it discovered that Godcat could only seize essence that was in the chaotic state. That was the beginning of the Primordial." She frowned, "The next part doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The writer says that the form the Primordial took 'was weak due to no longer being completely incomplete.' I'm not sure what they mean by that, though."

"Maybe chaos doesn't like having a definite form? That would make sense," Natalie suggested.

"Maybe," Anna said with a shrug, "That certainly makes more sense than anything I came up with. Anyway, it goes on to say that the Primordial realized its own weakness and fled from Godcat, burrowing into the planet's surface. Nobody saw it for hundreds of years after and Godcat assumed that the new and weak form was mortal and the Primordial had died."

Lance grunted, "Apparently not, or it wouldn't be here now."

Anna nodded, "Eventually, a gathering of cats learned of the Primordial's existence and set out to find it. They thought that they could win their Mother's favor if they found it. Obviously, they did eventually find the creature, but they were slaughtered by it. The writer says that Godcat heard the souls of Her children cry out before vanishing and She appeared at the site of their death."

The ranger led them to the mural on the back wall, "This one is a depiction of the battle that was fought there. Godcat fought against the Primordial, expecting to easily defeat Her ancient foe. That wasn't the case, though. The creature had discovered that being surrounded by the earth formed from its own essence granted it extra strength. The battle lasted for months, shaking the earth and attracting the attention of Godcat's children, both cat and man. They gathered before their creator, aiding with the help of four mighty weapons and three magic Jewels. There were many deaths, but eventually, the cats and humans triumphed over their foe. Using the magic Jewels and Godcat's remaining power, the weakened Primordial was captured and bound in the center of the planet."

"So the Jewels were originally created for the sole purpose of binding gods? Why would Godcat leave them lying around, then?" Lance wondered.

"The remaining wall says that the humans and cats that had aided Godcat kept the Jewels. Apparently, they were already discontent with Her rule and the recent battle showed them that together they were strong enough to battle gods. They used the Jewels and weapons against Godcat herself to win their freedom before dividing their tools up. The floor has the legend that we tell- _told_ in Greenwood," Anna said, her voice catching at the end.

Natalie sent the ranger a quick look and asked, "So does it say where the weapons are?"

Anna grinned, "That's written on the ceiling. The sword was hidden deep in a cave that grows glowing stones. The bow was enshrined at a temple hidden in a vast mountain range. The staff was left at an altar on the peak of a volcano. And finally, the rifle would have been the hardest to find. Apparently, it was kept by a powerful warlord's family. They wanted to duplicate the design, hoping to create a new and better gun, but had little success. The descendants of the family were eventually scattered and the rifle was lost." The ranger turned to Lance, "I don't know how or where your father found it, but I'm glad he gave it to you."

Lance shrugged, "It's probably the only thing I'll ever be thankful to him for. I don't know where he got it from, though; I had never seen it before he handed it to me."

"Well, at least we have one of the weapons," Matt said, "That merchant Dramal mentioned did find the sword in the Crystal Caverns and I can't think of any other 'caves that grows glowing crystals.' What about the other two though?"

Natalie chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully, "There's a big mountain range to the east of the Crystal Caverns. Maybe that's one of the locations? And I can only think of one volcano around; although it's possible that the staff was left at a now-dead or dormant one."

Lance frowned suddenly, "Wait, did anything here say how the cultists summoned the Primordial?"

Anna shook her head, "Not that I saw. It's possible there are other places like this one that might hold the answer, but nothing here says anything about summoning it, only sealing it." The ranger rubbed her temples with her palms, "Can we go? Translating all of that gave me a killer headache and I'd like some food."

"Me, too," Matt said with a grin. He waved at the murals, "Do we need anything else here?" The other three shook their heads. "Then let's go!"

The swordsman led the way up the stairs. The four stepped out into the room with the crystal cat statue. A loud hum rose from behind them and they whipped around to see the wall had reappeared, hiding the path to the room once more. Turning around again, they were stunned to see that the beam of light shining down on the statue had disappeared. Natalie lit the room up with her crystal.

"We must've spent all day down there," the mage said in disbelief, "No wonder we're hungry." She frowned as Anna gasped, "It isn't that shocking."

"Not that, I just realized something!" the ranger said in excitement. She looked around at her confused friends, "We thought that the vision Dramal had would tell us where to go to find a temple underground, but it didn't!"

Lance frowned, "Well, we didn't expect to find the temple here."

Anna shook her head, "We did find a temple; these ruins were a temple! We found a secret hidden underground after going down a long staircase with lots of stalactites on the ceiling!"

Matt's eyes widened, "And everything down there was of ancient events written in a dead language; one that Anna was able to read!"

"And no one did know the way there. We had a nudge from Dramal, but he thought that the temple was elsewhere and he didn't know of any paths being revealed during the day," Natalie said with stunned look.

Lance gestured up at the hole in the ceiling, "I thought the wall closed behind us because some ancient sensor detected once we had left, but look: it's nighttime now. I bet the door was set to close when the sun set."

"Wait, so if we had stayed there even a minute longer we would have been stuck? That's a scary thought," Matt muttered with a pale face.

"Best not to dwell on that," Anna said with a relieved grin. "When we triggered the switch—which had a sun and moon surrounding it—the door wall disappeared to reveal the path, and we found out what we need to stop the Primordial!"

The four friends looked at each other in amazement. They had inadvertently solved the riddle given to them by the seer, Dramal. With matching grins, they headed out of the dark room covered in enchanted ice.

Stars were dotting the sky overhead when they left the ruins of the temple of Godcat and walked into Goldenbrick. A cold wind blew around the deserted streets and the four shivered and hurried onto the inn. They paid for the same rooms they had the night before as well as some food. The innkeeper said she had been expecting them to be back and had already laid out a buffet line for them. Matt led the way into the dining area and loaded a plate full of food from the buffet. By the time other three had sat down, the swordsman had already devoured three chicken legs and a half loaf of bread.

"I can't wait to tell Dramal about all of this," Anna said between bites of mashed potatoes, though an uncertain shadow briefly flickered in her eyes before vanishing. "I bet he'll be stunned." She grinned as Matt headed back to the buffet line for seconds.

Natalie watched the swordsman go with an exasperated sigh. Shaking her head, she turned back to her food and dipped a piece of bread into her soup. "I think he has a portal to another dimension instead of a stomach," she muttered fondly.

Lance grinned, "I think the rate and frequency at which Matt eats debunks the part-snake theory, Anna."

Matt slid back into his chair with a huff and chunk of chicken in his mouth. "I'm not part snake!" he mumbled around a mouthful of food, "I'm just hungry."

"We get that, we're just having some fun," Natalie soothed. She stood up and deposited her plate in a tub and sat back down, waiting for the others to finish. "So tomorrow we'll swing by Dramal's and then head for the Crystal Caverns?"

Anna nodded, standing up to put her own dish alongside Natalie's, "Yeah, I don't think we should stay in any town for any longer than necessary."

Matt frowned and swallowed the food in his mouth, "Yeah and be sure to lock all doors and windows in the rooms. We don't want another repeat of Whitefall."

"Definitely," Lance muttered. The gunner stood up and snatched Matt's empty plate before the swordsman could go for thirds. "You've had enough and I'm tired," he told his pouting friend.

Matt sighed and stood up with Natalie and Anna. The four left the dining hall and headed for their rooms. They locked the all the windows and doors—aside from the door that joined the two rooms—and then double checked them. Anna pulled a few Colored Twigs from her adventure pouch and left some them leaning against the window and another wedged in the crack of the door hinge.

"It makes extra noise if they're opened," she explained when her friends gave her confused looks. "So who's sleeping where?"

"Let's do girls in one room, boys in the other, this time," Natalie said. She grinned at the frowns Matt and Lance gave her, "You'll survive, guys."

Lance sighed, "Fine, and no leaving the room alone. Goodnight." He turned and headed into the second bedroom with Matt following behind, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Anna yawned as she dressed for bed. She crawled under the sheets, tucked a dagger under her pillow, and mumbled a slurred goodnight to Natalie. The ranger was asleep before she even heard Natalie's half-awake reply. The mage fell asleep soon after.

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Early the following morning Anna knocked on the door to Dramal's house with Natalie, Matt, and Lance standing behind her. There was no reply and no sound of the door being unlocked. The ranger frowned and knocked a little harder. When there still wasn't any reply, she glanced back over her shoulder at her friends who simply shrugged. Anna tried the door and was surprised to find it unlocked so she pushed it open just a crack.

"Do you think we should just go in?" Natalie asked with a frown.

Matt shrugged, "Sure; we can always just apologize for entering without permission."

"Besides," Lance added, "We need to get going soon. If he isn't in there then we can leave a note explaining what we found and where we're heading."

Anna nodded and pushed the door all the way open. She stepped inside the dark, single room shack and glanced around. There was no noise aside from the shuffling of her and her friends entering, but the ranger spotted a lump on the bed covered with a blanket. Dramal's white head poked out from under it, resting on a pillow, facing away from them.

"I think he's sleeping," Anna whispered. She stepped forward and placed a hand on the old man's covered shoulder and gave him a small shake, "Dramal, wake up." She frowned when he didn't reply and shook him a little harder. When he still didn't wake up, the ranger's eyes widened. She hesitantly felt the man's skin to find it cold. She pulled her hand back sharply.

Natalie swallowed and asked, "Is he… gone?"

The ranger's shoulders slumped and she nodded with her back turned. Lance stepped forward to give her a hug. "I'm sorry, Anna," he murmured.

Anna took a deep shuddering breath, and said in a quiet voice, "I kind of expected it, actually. He gave us a very final-sounding goodbye the last time." She leaned further into Lance's warm chest as she murmured, "He was sick and told me he expected to die soon."

Matt frowned sadly, "What should we do? We can't just leave him here. Do you know if he has any friends or family around Goldenbrick?"

"Not that I know of," Anna replied. She shook her head sadly, "I doubt he does, though. He told me I was the first person to ask for his name in five years."

"That's awful," Natalie murmured. She shook herself and looked over at the seer's body in the bed, "I guess we'll have to go ask one of the town's guards to see to his burial or cremation." At Anna's nod the mage turned to Matt, "You and I can go do that while Lance and Anna stay with his body; unless you'd rather switch, Anna?"

"No, I can stay here with him," Anna whispered, "I'd like to say goodbye."

"Be careful on your way, guys," Lance warned, "Just because we haven't seen any of those Origin guys recently doesn't mean they've decided to leave us alone."

Matt and Natalie nodded and filed out of the house. Lance guided Anna to sit down on a floor cushion and took a seat next to her. The ranger leaned back into him as soon as he wrapped an arm around her. For a few minutes they sat in silence until finally Anna spoke quietly.

"He was a good man. He came to Greenwood to try and warn us of the Primordial's attack, but no one really believed him. I found out when I came here a few months ago that the trip had been too much for his health," she said, her voice catching. Lance tightened his grip around her shoulders as she went on, "His journey was mostly pointless—even though he assured me that wasn't the case—but it gave me a goal after everyone was killed: find the seer and ask him what he knew. I found him and he was a huge help; not with information, but he kept me from spiraling down. I don't know what I might have done if he hadn't talked with me and given me a direction; maybe I would have just gone back and curled up at the graveyard, maybe gone off on my own to find the rest of the killers, I don't know." Lance remained silent as Anna talked, but began rubbing small circles her arm. "Thank you, Dramal. I know you said you didn't need my thanks, but I want you to have it anyway. May the spirits of the trees guide your soul to peace. I hope wherever you are now, you're happy. Goodbye," Anna murmured softly, tears in her eyes.

"I want to thank you, too," Lance said quietly, "Thank you for saving Anna from herself while the others and I were absent. We might not have known that she and the others were in trouble, but you did and sacrificed your own health to try and help. Thank you for your help in our new quest. Goodbye and rest well."

Silence fell again as the two waited for Matt and Natalie to return. The door to the house swung open and the pair seated on the ground looked up and around to greet their friends only to freeze as they saw three Origin assassins standing in the doorway. Immediately, Lance and Anna sprang up with their weapons in hand.

"This is bad," Lance thought, "We're cornered, the space is small, and there are three of them."

As the pair eyed their enemies warily, two of the assassins stepped inside the small home. The third pulled a small handgun from beneath his black cloak. An arrow flew past Lance's shoulder from Anna followed by a curse as the man with the gun seemed to have predicted the shot and slid sideways. The two assassins in the room sprang forwards, daggers flashing in the dim light. Lance brought his gunblade up to block one and cursed as the second slid around him to head for Anna.

The ranger dropped her bow and slid her dagger free of its sheath to parry the second man's stab. The assassin seemed surprised at the ranger's sudden change in weapon and Anna seized the opportunity created by his momentary falter to lunge forward. Her dagger flickered out as fast as a striking viper and slid into his ribs. The man dropped lifelessly to the ground with a thud. By this point Lance had killed the second guard. He turned his attention to the final assassin and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw the man taking aim at Anna.

"Watch out!" Lance yelled. He slammed his shoulder into Anna, sending the ranger falling to the floor right as a shot rang out. He cried out as a searing pain flared in his shoulder. "Stay down," he said through gritted teeth as he saw Anna scrambling up. A curse came from the assassin at the door and with a flicker of his cloak, he vanished.

Natalie came running in just as Lance let out a groan and sank to his knees, clutching his wounded shoulder. Anna sprang up and pried his bloodied fingers away from the bullet-wound with shaking hands. Natalie dropped down next to them and cast a healing spell on the groaning gunner. Light engulfed Lance and when it faded, the wound was gone.

"Where's Matt?" Anna asked the mage.

Natalie shook her head with a frown, "He took off after that last guy."

Lance sprang up, "Damnit, we have to go after them!"

"I'm back already," Matt said as he walked in. He waved off the angry glare Lance gave him, "I'm fine, but the guy got away. He did a crazy mountain goat scramble up the cliff nearby."

Anna frowned and helped Lance stand up. "Don't go after them alone next time," she said to the swordsman.

Lance glared at Matt, "I can't believe you ran after a guy with a gun when you only use swords."

"I went after you, didn't I? But fine, I'll try to remember that for the next time," the swordsman promised with a huff. He glanced out the door, "They must have spies watching for us in every town. We never see them in the wilderness unless we had just left a town."

Natalie nodded, "We talked to the guard captain, he promised to see to a burial for Dramal. We gave him some money for the whole thing." She glanced over at Anna, "I'd like to stay for the ceremony, but I think we should go now."

The ranger cast a quick look at the seer's body before turning back. "You're right. I've said my goodbyes and I know he wouldn't have wanted us staying for his burial if it meant risking our lives," she said in a reluctant tone. Anna motioned to the other two bodies, "We'll need to report this attack on our way out, though. I don't want them thinking we killed some people for no reason."

"Let's go, then," Lance said, "The sooner we're gone, the better."

The gunner paused on his way out the door and gave Dramal's body a quick salute before exiting. Matt gave him a respectful nod while Natalie and Anna bowed. Together, the four friends hurried back to the captain of the guard and gave a rapid explanation of what had happened. The man had frowned at the fact that there were people running around attacking the heroes and promised to look into the matter before wishing them a safe journey.

As the party headed out of Goldenbrick white flakes began to fall from the sky. Anna tilted her head back to frown at the cloudy sky. "Snow? It never snows in Goldenbrick…" she murmured in confusion.

Lance glanced back at her, "Maybe it's just a cold year this year? It was really cold in Lankyroot, too, after all."

"Maybe," Anna replied. She glanced across the ocean with a frown as they climbed up the trail leading into Lankyroot Jungle. "Maybe, but the ocean should keep it from snowing here…" the ranger thought to herself. She gave herself a small shake and pushed the unusual weather out of her mind. They had enough to worry about without puzzling over strange weather patterns.

An hour into walking through Lankyroot and the weird weather was once again pushed to the forefront of Anna's mind. She frowned to herself as she eyed a half-frozen stream along their path and stopped to kneel next to it. The others didn't notice the ranger's pause and kept walking. She didn't notice them continuing out of sight through the trees, but something else did. Three pairs of hungry eyes from watched from the thick foliage as Anna used her dagger to chip of a chunk of the ice to see how thick it had gotten.

A snarl was the first clue Anna had of monsters nearby and she spun around to see three bears eyeing her. The ranger's eyes widened in fright and she took one step back only to shiver as her boot landed in icy water. She swallowed and rammed her dagger back in its sheath, shrugging her bow around to nock three arrows on the string. A few seconds later and a Combo Shot slammed into the shoulder of one of the bears. A loud and pained roar rang out and one of the other bears lunged forwards with its fangs bared. Anna slid to the side and dodged the first lunge only to let out a yell as the second bear leapt forward and slashed at her. The ranger hissed and pulled her dagger back out to make a clumsy slash at the bear as she moved away. She kept her eyes constantly moving across her opponents, berating herself for being distracted by the ice and getting separated from the others.

At that moment, the bear she had wounded earlier suddenly burst into flame. The other bears shied away from the fire and roared a challenge to whoever had attacked their ally. Matt and Lance came charging out of the leaves, slashing at the pair of animals. Natalie stepped out from behind them and cast a brief glance at the ashes that remained of her target. Anna grinned in relief at her friends' arrival and raised her bow once more only to realize that the other two bears were already dead. Lance stormed over to Anna with an angry face only to stop and pale as she turned to face him.

"Holy- Are you okay?" he asked frantically.

Anna frowned, "I feel fine. Why?"

Matt stepped up next to Lance and gaped at her side, "Because you have a river of blood pouring from you? Natalie, we need some healing, quick!"

With a surprised glance down, Anna realized she had forgotten about the slash the bear had gotten on her. Blood coated her side and ran in a thick stream down her leg. She blanched at the amount of blood running from the slash and groaned, suddenly dizzy. Pain swept through her as if it had been waiting for her to notice the wound before flaring up. Lance ran forward to catch her as she suddenly crumpled, her weapons falling to the ground. A few seconds later, and Natalie's healing magic washed over Anna and the slash closed up.

"There, that should do it," Natalie said. She eyed Anna's pale face for a few seconds before adding, "Might want to carry her, Lance. My magic can't restore lost blood."

"I can walk," Anna insisted. She heaved herself up only to sway as the world spun around her, and fell back into Lance. "Or not," she mumbled, avoiding the 'I told you so' look Natalie gave her.

"I can carry you, no problem. Just let me put my rifle away," Lance said.

He carefully released Anna who remained sitting upright, but slowly tilted sideways until Matt caught her. Swiftly, the gunner stuffed his weapon in his Adventure Pouch before kneeling in front of Anna. He waited until the ranger had wrapped her arms in a firm hold around his neck before standing up with a small grunt with his hands holding her thighs to support her. Matt gathered Anna's bow and dagger from the ground and carefully tucked the blade back in its sheath at her waist before slinging her bow over his own shoulder. Lance jerked his head for Matt to take the lead and followed behind him with Anna on his back and Natalie bringing up the rear. After a few seconds though, the gunner turned his head to glare at his girlfriend.

"So, mind telling us why you decided to stop without saying anything?" Lance asked her sarcastically. He frowned as she mumbled something into his back. "You were poking the ice on the stream?" he asked incredulously.

Natalie sighed from behind them, "That's what distracted you? I know the cold weather is bugging you, but next time at least give us a warning?"

Matt nodded from in front of them, "We thought you had been silently picked off by Origin assassins. We're supposed to be sticking together, remember?"

"Okay, okay," Anna huffed, "You're right: it was stupid of me and I shouldn't be getting distracted. I'm sorry. It's just…" she trailed off with a worried frown and shook her head.

Lance glanced at her again, "Just, what?"

Anna hesitated a moment longer before heaving another sigh, "Lankyroot is a jungle, right? In my entire life, it has never been cold enough here to freeze water—and definitely not running water." She shook her head again, "But that's not what's really bugging me."

"What is it then?" Natalie asked.

"It was something Lana told me a long time ago, but I can't remember," Anna admitted.

Matt glanced back, "Another village legend, maybe? Like the one about Godcat?"

"Maybe…" Anna mused hesitantly, "I'll let you guys know if I remember." She rested her chin on Lance's shoulder and murmured, "I'm sorry for scaring you. I'll try not to get distracted like that again." She smiled as Lance's back relaxed some and he gave a small nod.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and soon they were on the outskirts of the ruined Greenwood Village. Lance lowered Anna to the grass and let her slide off his back. Matt moved to the remains of a burned house and, with a glance at Anna for permission, began gathering chunks of it to make a fire. Soon, a warm fire crackled in front of the group and they munched on some food Natalie pulled out. Silence reigned as they ate broken only by the cracks and pops from the fire.

"That's what it was!" Anna suddenly exclaimed loudly.

The outburst caused the other three to jump with surprise before they cast mildly annoyed looks at the ranger.

"First, she scares us by pulling a vanishing act and now she's doing jump scares," Matt muttered.

Anna gave him a sheepish grin, "Sorry. Anyway, I remembered what Lana told me. It was an old legend after all." She glanced around at the interested looks she received before continuing, "I can't remember the specifics, but it was about a great evil that could control the weather."

"Great, so there are two evil things to deal with now?" Natalie sighed.

Lance frowned thoughtfully, "How long has the weather been cold, Anna? It was chilly when we first got back."

The ranger gave him a nod, "I can see where you're heading with that. Yes, it started about the same time as Greenwood's destruction."

Matt gaped at her, "So let me get this straight: the Primordial has three heads with evil death-breath, acid saliva, it's a giant, can possibly teleport, is unaffected by regular attacks or magic, and it can control the weather?" He flopped onto his back when Anna nodded and moaned, "We're screwed; I just know it."

Natalie frowned, "That's right: magic makes it stronger, right? I can heal you guys, but I won't be able to attack it."

Anna gave a nervous laugh, "Eh heh, actually, you can attack it, Natz."

"But I thought you said…" the mage trailed off with a confused frown.

"Pure magic works on it," Anna informed them, "Dramal told me that you can probably damage the thing with a minimal amount of strength being given to it, Natalie."

"Oh, well why didn't you say so sooner?" the mage said with a relieved grin.

"I, uh, kind of forgot," Anna admitted with a blush of embarrassment.

She glanced at where Matt was lying on the ground with one arm thrown across his face before moving her gaze around to the other two. "You guys… don't have to fight if you don't want to," she hesitantly offered in a quiet voice, "I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to quit now."

Matt immediately sat back up to join the other two in staring at her incredulously.

"And you're going tackle it alone again?" Natalie asked with an arched eyebrow.

Anna flinched slightly, "Well… yes, I guess so?"

"Oh, no you aren't. And don't you dare pull another stunt like our first trip to Whitefall," Lance snapped. He glared at the ranger as she shifted uncomfortably, "You've already admitted that you couldn't do anything to the Primordial on your own and I sure as hell am not going to let you throw yourself into this alone. I'm staying with you and that's final."

Natalie nodded, "You can't do this by yourself. If I'm the only one who can do magic damage relatively safely, then you need me with you, too."

Matt grinned and said, "I wasn't going to just quit now! We're going to get some awesome new weapons and destroy this stupid god, and where the team goes, I go! Besides, if the Primordial is going to run rampant then nowhere will be safe, anyway."

Anna's face broke out in a relieved smile, "I don't know why I even bothered offering."

Lance tugged her into a one-armed hug, "Because you're worried about us, that's why. At least you asked instead of just running off this time." He glanced around the fire with a yawn, "So tomorrow we go into the Crystal Caverns, find this Equilibrium sword, hope Matt can lift it, and then what? Where should we head next?"

"The bow, I think. The mountain range is just past the Crystal Caves, after all," Natalie said after a short pause, "It's the biggest range around so it's probably the one we're looking for."

"Sounds good to me. Now let's get some sleep," Matt said. With that, he flopped back again and started snoring.

Natalie shook her head at him fondly and helped Anna set some wards out before pulling a blanket out and curling up next to the swordsman. Anna and Lance snuggled down under a blanket as well and soon all four members of the party were asleep. Late that night Anna bolted upright as she sensed something trip one of the wards. Lance groaned and opened his eyes at the sudden loss of warmth at his side. He spotted Anna silently pulling her bow out and snapped to complete alertness. A second later and the wards around their campsite began flashing and chiming loudly. Matt and Natalie jerked up with weapons in hand. Anna flicked her wrist and the wards fell dark and silent. The four peered around and listened carefully, but nothing moved in the darkness.

Matt lowered his sword slightly and suggested, "False alarm?"

Anna frowned, "I've never heard of properly set wards giving a false alarm. Something or someone is here, I know it."

A sudden chill wind sprang up and howled through the trees. Accompanying the sudden gust was a wave of energy that had Anna gasping. The other three sensed the evil presence and glanced at each other and the suddenly pale ranger.

Natalie shifted uncomfortably, "Anna, what-"

"Later, Natz," Anna snapped, raising her voice over the wind, "We need to run; now." Without waiting for a reply, the ranger sprinted a short distance away before pausing and motioning frantically for the others to follow.

The sudden command took the others by surprise, but they began jogging after their friend as the wind whipped around them. An eerie shriek suddenly pierced the night and the gale died abruptly. Despite Anna's urges to run faster, the other three paused and glanced back. They froze and gaped as their eyes fell on a massive shadow near where the altar used to be. The ranger ran back and began tugging on their arms, but they were too stunned to move.

"Wh-what the hell is that?!" Matt gasped.

"It's the Primordial," Anna said rapidly, glancing at the shadow as it slowly tromped towards them. She yanked harder on Lance's arm, trying to get him to start running again. "Guys, please. We need to go right now," she moaned.

The ground began to tremble as the ancient monster drew even closer. The ranger swallowed heavily as her friends remained still, gaping up at the monster in fear. They hardly twitched as a blast of lighting crackled into the sky from one of the mouths.

"I've never seen them like this; it's as if they're paralyzed," Anna thought frantically.

She looked rapidly between her friends and the monster before her face set in a determined glare. Shrugging Sky Feather off her arm, the ranger raced away from her stunned friends. She headed in a wide loop around the Primordial before drawing her bow back to full draw in a Piercing Shot. The arrow sailed through the air and slammed into one of the hind legs of the monster. Immediately, the Primordial shrieked and rounded on Anna. The ranger was already moving further away from her friends, firing arrow after arrow to keep the ancient god's attention focused on her. One of the heads lowered to ground level and its jaw cracked open. A bluish white glow appeared, silhouetting the massive fangs for a brief moment before a blast of freezing ice slammed into Anna.

DDDDDD

Lance's mind ground to a halt as soon as he saw the Primordial. "How in the Hell are we supposed to stop that?" he distantly wondered in despair. He heard Anna yelling something at him and then felt her tug on his arm, but his attention was captivated on the monstrosity that lumbered closer. He didn't register when Anna left his side or the fact that he really should be running. It wasn't until the Primordial let out another unearthly screech that raised the hairs on his neck did he begin to snap out of his daze.

A smaller, human scream that cut off abruptly was what finally broke the spell of terror, though. The gunner jerked and looked around, spying Matt and Natalie next to him still staring at the behemoth in front of them. Anna was nowhere in sight. Lance's heart stopped and he whipped around to stare at the god again.

"Anna?!" Lance yelled, "Anna! Are you okay?!"

There was no reply from the ranger. Lance snapped into action. He sent a small electric burst at the pair frozen next to him. The pair jolted out of their stupor in time to see Lance lifting Super Snipe onto his shoulder. The gunner channeled a massive amount of mana into the gun, causing it to glow red and tremble.

"Guys, head for the trees," Lance snapped without turning around.

Matt hesitated for a brief second, but nodded and snagged Natalie's arm and pulled her away. They stopped just inside the tree line and turned to see Lance launch a Hyper Beam from his rifle. The blast slammed into the Primordial's side, causing the creature to stagger sideways. There was another chorus of shrieks before a tricolored flash of light engulfed the area, blinding the three. When it cleared, the Primordial was gone.

Not pausing to wonder how or why the creature had disappeared, Lance threw down his rifle and sprinted over to a massive patch of ice-covered ground that had been revealed when the god's bulk had vanished. He heard Natalie and Matt come running out as well, but didn't turn to look as he searched for Anna. The gunner tripped over a lump and twisted to see Anna lying on the ground, half coated with frost. He stayed frozen for all of two seconds before scrambling to her side and reaching for her wrist. He gave a sob of relief as he felt a pulse despite the iciness of her skin.

The gunner had just pulled her up when Natalie came skidding to a halt next to him. Without a word, the mage began casting Heal on the unconscious ranger, healing the frost burns on her body. Matt came up as the last wound was fixed and Natalie shifted to heating the air around the ranger to dry her clothes. Lance's Super Snipe was clutched in the swordsman's left hand.

"Is she going to be okay?" Matt asked worriedly.

Natalie nodded, "She should be fine. It might take a while for her to wake up, though."

Lance held Anna tightly and his face took on a disgusted look. "I can't believe we just froze like that. And right after we told her we'd help her fight that thing, too," he spat, self-loathing coating his words.

Matt's free hand clenched, "Me either. She told us to run, pulled on our arms, and we just stood there like idiots."

"It took her screaming in pain to get me moving," Lance muttered, "And she was still weak from her tangle with those bears."

Natalie nodded somberly, "I made sure she had a lot of juice at dinner, though. That would have helped with the blood loss. We're lucky she didn't lose her head like the rest of us. Good work with that Hyper Beam, though, Lance." The mage shook herself, "Come on, let's bring her back to the blankets. She's probably cold, still."

Lance nodded as he felt Anna shivering in his arms. He stood up and led the way back to the camp with the ranger still in his arms. On unspoken agreement the other two grabbed the discarded blankets and moved them into the trees. Lance settled Anna on top of the one they had been sharing earlier and pulled her bedroll out of her Adventure Pouch. He gently tucked the shivering girl inside before squeezing in behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. Lance pulled her closer, despite the chill coming from her body, and rubbed at her chilly arms. Natalie set some new wards out before settling down beside Matt; both were soon back asleep.

The same was not true for Lance. He lay there, warming Anna and thinking. He was ashamed of how he had reacted when the Primordial had appeared. Anna certainly hadn't done that either of the times she had seen the thing. In fact, each time she had thrown herself headfirst into combat, alone, to defend the people important to her.

Lance's face set with determination; next time she wouldn't be alone. She had been lucky both times she had faced the god to not have been killed, but Lance was not going to count on her luck holding out. No, he would help her through the fight as many times as it took before the threat was defeated.

As if in response to his sudden resolve, Anna stopped shivering and snuggled closer to him with a small sigh, still asleep. Lance smiled slightly, his eyelids slowly sliding closed as he drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Anna woke before the sun had risen the following morning in her bedroll with Lance's arm around her waist. She blinked at the trees spreading out in front of her and wondered when and why the camp had been moved into the forest. The ranger's breath caught in her throat as memories of the night before suddenly rushed back to her. She tensed and carefully squirmed out of the bedroll and Lance's grasp. The gunner let out a deep sigh at the movement, but didn't awaken. Once she was free, she looked around and released a relieved breath as she spotted Matt and Natalie sleeping peacefully nearby.

" _Good, none of them seem to be hurt,_ " Anna thought with a smile. Her face faded to a frown as she thought about her second tangle with the Primordial and the icy blast that had taken her down as well as how the other three had frozen. Hopefully, they wouldn't do that again. Anna doubted they would now that they had seen the god once. " _And they must have snapped out of their shock at some point, or I wouldn't be here,_ " Anna mused. She made a mental note to check if the others were still okay with tackling the god once they had awoken.

The ranger silently stood and stretched her arms over her head. Dropping them back to her side, she looked around the campsite again and wondered what she should do. Going anywhere while the others were asleep was a definite ' _no_ ,' so hunting for breakfast was out, as was checking out the aftermath of battling the Primordial. Anna heaved a quiet sigh, leaned against a nearby tree trunk, and tilted her head back to look up at the grey predawn sky. After a few minutes, her eyes brightened with inspiration and she stood straight again. Digging her dagger out of her Adventure Pouch, Anna began to run through a few self-taught forms.

Lance woke a few minutes later. At first, he stiffened when he realized that Anna wasn't next to him anymore, but relaxed again as he blinked the sleepiness out of his eyes to see her practicing. The ranger slid fluidly through the motions, slipping from one stance to another seamlessly, her blade a flashing light as it flickered out in stabs, slashes, and mimed deflections. The gunner was pleased to see no stiffness or signs of discomfort from her injuries the night before. As Lance watched, Anna began to move faster and faster, until she caught a glimpse of red and froze abruptly.

Lowering the dagger with a light blush, Anna smiled sheepishly. "Good morning. Did I wake you?" she asked nervously.

"Nah, I woke up on my own," Lance assured her. He sat up and nodded to the weapon in her hand, "You've gotten really good with that dagger."

"Thanks to you and Matt sparring with me; it really helped a lot. Before, I just kind of stabbed with it and hoped for the best," Anna replied with a smile.

The gunner stood up and shrugged, "That would work for most monsters. Now, how are you feeling? You look okay, but I want to be sure. That was a nasty blast you got hit with last night."

"Like I never got hit," Anna assured him with a grin. Her smile faded as she asked, "What about you guys? The Primordial didn't go for you after it hit me, did it?"

Natalie's voice spoke up to reply, "No, Lance slammed it with a Hyper Beam after he shocked me and Matt out of our stupors. We're all okay, thanks to you."

Lance and Anna twisted to see the mage smiling over at them from where she sat next to Matt's still-sleeping form. Natalie reached down and shook Matt by the shoulder until he shot up, sword in hand. Luckily, the swordsman didn't start wildly swinging. He merely lowered the weapon and mumbled a sleepy greeting to the other three. Soon the four friends had packed their sleeping supplies and were walking towards the Crystal Caverns, munching on some ration bars Lance radioed in for. The overall silence was broken when Matt mumbled an embarrassed-sounding apology to Anna.

"We're sorry for freezing up last night," Matt said, awkwardly glancing at the ranger as he walked.

Anna shrugged, "I don't blame you for freaking; I briefly did, too, the first time." She hesitated and added, "Do you guys still want to help, or do you think you're going to freeze up again?"

Natalie met Anna's hesitant gaze seriously as she said, "Definitely still helping."

Lance nodded firmly, "I promise not to freak out next time. I've seen the thing now, and Super Snipe definitely affected it. You aren't going to fight that thing alone again. Not while I'm here."

"Same here; and once we get the other weapons. We'll take that lizard down," Matt said with a grin.

The ranger beamed, "Good to know. Not sure what I would have done if you guys had wanted to quit, but I guess it doesn't matter now."

The party broke out of the trees in front of the entrance to the Crystal Caverns. Matt led the way inside the cave, sword in hand, prepared for any attack. Natalie came next, followed by Anna, and Lance bringing up the rear.

**DDDDDD**

On the opposite side of the Crystal Caverns, a large group cloaked Origin assassins entered the cave, led by a single figure. The leader wore a cloak like the rest of the assassins, but while theirs were made of cotton dyed a dark grey, his was a strange black material that seemed more like liquid shadow than cloth. The leader of the group stood straight and turned his head to scan the cave. He glanced across the open space for a few moments before turning to address the assassins behind him, his face almost entirely hidden by the shadow of his hood. The other members of Origin straightened as he gave them orders in a soft and cold voice.

"They're probably inside the caverns already on their little treasure hunt for that sword the merchant in Goldenbrick was raving about. Remember: your only mission is the live capture of the mage, Natalie. We already know the location of the altar so get there ahead of them and hide yourselves completely. Wait until they are distracted with their new toy before you attack. Use the smoke and noise bombs I made for you to distract their group and knock out the mage." He paused until the others had nodded their understanding before continuing, "Once you have successfully incapacitated the girl, grab her and retreat. The three spell casters in your squad have a spell to cause a distraction to cover your escape, but that does not mean you can idle. The Grandmaster will be waiting for your report at the fort. Do not fail; I promise that if you do, any survivors will be dealt with most strictly. What I did to the merchant will seem painless compared to what I will do to you. Also know that I can, and will, find you should you choose to flee."

The men shivered as they bowed. With a swish of his cloak, their commander turned and stepped out of the cave, his form melting into the swirling snow outside. The men remained where they stood, shoulders tense, for another few seconds. Finally, they moved to prepare their ambush of the party at the altar.

**DDDDDD**

Matt, Lance, Natalie, and Anna were making their way through the caves. Anna and Lance had their crystal pendants on and were lighting the way with a red and green glow. The ranger's head was bent as she worked to tie Natalie's orange crystal to a leather cord. She glanced up every little while to check for monsters out of habit. Finally, with a small huff, she held the new pendant up to show Natalie.

"Ta-dah! One magic glowing rock on a string, as ordered," Anna said with a grin.

The mage laughed and accepted the necklace. Slipping it over her head, she thanked Anna and pushed some mana into the crystal. A brilliant orange glow immediately flared, overpowering the light from the other two. Lance shrugged and let his crystal go out.

Matt glanced over his shoulder at Anna. "Do I get a fancy glowing pendant, too?"

"You can't even make it glow that much. Why bother?" Lance asked with a snort.

Anna rolled her eyes at the gunner, and held her hand out. "Sure, I can make one for you, too, Matt. I wouldn't want you to feel left out," she said with a grin.

"At least you're nice," Matt grumbled with a small glare at Lance. He fished the blue crystal he had gotten from Shawn and passed it over to Anna. A few minutes later and he had his own pendant around his neck.

"So where do we actually _find_ this sword?" Natalie asked suddenly. She vaguely waved a hand at the tunnel they were walking down, "We didn't see anything unusual last time we were here and it was a straight path."

The other three stopped and stared at the mage before looking around.

Lance frowned, gazing down the tunnel. "You're right; we should have asked for the merchant before leaving Goldenbrick," he muttered.

Matt shrugged, "A little late to be thinking of that now, don't you think?"

Anna chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully for a few moments. Finally, she turned to Lance, "What about where we fell down last time? We found a crevice to follow back up, and were in a rush to get back to the others so we didn't look around, but I think there was a whole other section of cave down there."

Lance's face brightened, "That's right! Let's try down there!"

"I don't want to jump off any cliffs. I don't even know how you guys survived that one," Matt said with a frown.

Natalie patted his shoulder, "We can walk down the way they came up. That was right near where we fought the Crystal Golem, right? Let's go!"

With their destination set, the four began hurrying through the caves. They broke out into the room of the giant glowing crystals. Halfway through the chamber, they froze as they heard a yell echo around the room. Matt cast a quick glance at the others before turning and running in the direction of the shout, the others close behind him. They bounded over a small patch of glowing yellow crystals and skidded around a giant purple one to see a two Ice Elementals facing a small crevice in the wall. As they watched, a sword tip poked out of the crack, stabbing at the monsters.

Lance loaded two bullets into his gunblade and fired a Double Shot at the back of one of the Elementals. The creature shrieked and spun around to return fire with an Ice Shard. The frozen spear was blasted out of the air by a fireball from Natalie, resulting in a cloud of steam. Matt charged into the cloud and slashed with his Heaven's Gate, catching the wounded monster across the chest. A flash of light appeared as a Holy Sword finished the creature off. Anna knelt down and placed her palm on the ground. A few seconds later, and the green thorns of her Vines attack shot up to entangle the second Elemental. The creature slashed its way free of the tendrils only to meet its end when it was engulfed in the fire of Matt's Eruption. The four lowered their weapons with grins of victory.

Anna turned to the crevice in the wall and called, "You can come out; it's safe now."

A man with graying blond hair squeezed out of the gap. He looked up with a smile of relief only to have his jaw drop when he saw them. The other four also stared at the man until Anna's face split in a smile.

"Shawn! It's good to see you," she said.

The man beamed back and stepped forward to shake hands with the four heroes. "It's good to see you all, as well! Thanks for the save. And I see you still have those crystals," he replied cheerfully.

Natalie nodded, "Yup, they've been a huge help."

Shawn smiled, "Good to know! Now what brings you four back here?"

Lance shrugged and said, "We're looking for a sword that some merchant from Goldenbrick said he saw here. I don't suppose you've seen anything of the sort?"

"Ah, I met that man. He told me that he had found a sword too heavy to lift and had marked the way to get to it, but I haven't seen the weapon myself. He came from the Whitefall end of the caves, if that helps," Shawn said.

Matt grinned, "That's a huge help and it's where we were going to go look, anyway. Thanks, Shawn. I wish we could stay, but we're in a hurry."

The man waved his hand, "No problem and you're welcome. When you have some spare time, come back and visit, okay?"

The four nodded and waved goodbye as they headed off.

"Well, it was nice to see Shawn again," Anna said with a smile as she led the way across the first of the wooden bridges.

Natalie nodded, "I'm surprised he's still here, though. We didn't see him the last time we came through here."

Anna shrugged, "I didn't see him any of the times I came through here, either. Maybe he's only down here part of the year? He'd have to go out for supplies eventually, after all."

Matt grinned, "I dunno, that bat stew he gave us last time was really good; you can't buy bat meat in stores. And he doesn't need wood or coal to heat his camp."

"No, but all the other stuff he put in the food along with any research supplies he might need would have to purchased outside," Lance reminded the swordsman with a roll of his eyes. He scanned for any monsters and added, "Good thing he was here to tell us we're on the right track, though."

The party headed down the steep tunnel Lance and Anna had followed the last time, delving deeper into the caverns. Strangely, they didn't see any monsters as they walked. Natalie commented on the fact and Anna suggested that maybe the added cold outside had killed off some of the creatures. Lance had frowned and reminded her that most of the creatures they had fought in the caves had been ice enemies. They resolved to take care, checking constantly for any threats.

The air this deep in the caverns was frigid and the party paused to change into their fur armor for the added warmth. The tunnel finally leveled out into the icy room Lance and Anna had fought an Ice Elemental on their last quest. Nothing was there now, and they squeezed out of the gap into the deep chasm.

"Walking here was far less painful than falling," Lance commented.

Anna grinned at him, "Although It took longer. I can't say I mind the exchange, though."

Matt glanced at them, "How did you guys survive that, anyway?"

"I dug my gunblade into the wall to slow the fall," Lance said with a shrug. He grimaced at the memory and added, "Still cracked a few ribs and got some nasty bruises, though."

Natalie winced sympathetically, "Ouch."

"Better cracked ribs than splat, which is what I would have been if he hadn't held onto me," Anna said with a shudder. "Now which way should we go?"

The four glanced in either direction before deciding to head right, reasoning that if they didn't find the sword than they would head back and try the other way. Shortly after they had been walking, they came across a crude arrow carved in the wall. They exchanged excited grins and followed the marker deeper and deeper until they came to a split with another arrow carved in the wall.

Their journey went on that way, walking and following markers until they came out of a narrow tunnel into a large room. At the far end, a stone altar was carved into the wall between two large, glowing yellow crystals. Set on the altar was a long, thick sword with a cross at the end of the blade. The black steel and silver runes glinted in the yellow light of the crystals. Matt cheered and ran forward to check the weapon out. The other three followed close behind and watched anxiously as Matt reached out and grabbed the hilt. The swordsman grunted as he lifted Equilibrium up.

"Ha! I knew it! One hand," Anna cheered.

Matt sheepishly grinned, "I dunno if I could swing it in combat with one hand, but I can definitely lift it."

Natalie beamed as she watched the swordsman take a two-handed grip and made a few experimental swings, "That's better than anyone else, though. Do you think you'll be able to use that in battle?"

Matt lowered the blade to rest against the ground. He eyed the weapon thoughtfully before shrugging, "For a while, at least. I can feel some serious power in this thing, but it is ridiculously heavy; far more so than my other swords. Although, if use it a lot I'll probably get used to the weight."

Lance nodded, "Good, that's two weapons down. Let's head out and-"

A sudden loud bang echoed around the room and smoke billowed up. The four jumped in shock and raised their weapons. The smokescreen was so thick they couldn't see each other and the loud explosion had their ears ringing. Anna cast a gust spell to clear away the smoke. The wind rushed through the cave and pushed the billowing cloud aside to reveal their party again. A party that was now short one member.

Matt's eyes widened as he saw that Natalie was missing and he whipped around in time to see her slumped, unconscious, over a cloaked figure's shoulder before she disappeared from sight. He let out a shout that sounded muffled to his ringing ears and leapt forward. The remaining men glanced back at him and stopped to intercept the swordsman and give their companions time to flee. A hail of arrows came down on them and five fell before they could attack, crumpling to the ground. Matt sprang over their bodies only to be slammed with a blast of fire that sent him tumbling down. He glared as he sprang up, only to find the mage that had attacked him already down, courtesy of Lance. He slashed at the men standing in his way with his new sword and two more fell silently to the ground, blood running from their chests to stain the ground. A red light flashed from the last remaining mage just before an arrow slammed into his throat. The final spell hit Matt in the chest and he staggered back.

Lance gunned down the remaining men and sprinted forward with Anna at his side to catch up to where Matt stood, hunched over and panting. The pair reached him just as he straightened, still breathing heavily.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked worriedly.

Lance frowned when Matt didn't reply and set a hand on the swordsman's shoulder, "Hey, pull it together. We need to catch up to them before they get too- WOAH!"

The gunner broke off with a yell of shock and dove to the floor as Matt whipped around and swung Equilibrium at him. He rolled away and came to his feet some space away in time to see Matt lunge at Anna. The ranger nimbly twisted sideways and threw herself into a backwards handspring, out of range of the next swing. Lance stared as Matt turned, and shivered at the way the swordsman's blue eyes seemed to glow with madness. He swallowed heavily as Matt lunged at him again and barely brought his own blade up to block.

"Snap out of it, Matt!" Anna yelled desperately. She watched in wide-eyed fear as the swordsman ignored her and began forcing Lance back, step-by-step.

Lance grunted as his friend pressed harder against the blade lock. His muscles trembled under the weight of Equilibrium paired with Matt's own strength. His red eyes were focused on Matt's face, inches from his own. The swordsman's teeth were bared in a feral snarl and no sign of real consciousness could be found in his wild eyes. Suddenly, Matt broke the lock and Lance staggered forward straight into the kick that slammed into his gut. The gunner's breath rushed out of him as he flew backwards into a wall where he slumped gasping to the floor.

Matt wasted no time in rushing forward to finish him off only to be intercepted by Anna. The ranger came whirling in from his left with her dagger in hand. She slashed at his arms and spun away from the swing he sent at her. The blade of Matt's sword slammed into the ground and a fissure spread across the floor. Anna's heart beat rapidly with fear and adrenalin as she danced backwards, leading Matt away from Lance as the gunner staggered to his feet. She kept her eyes focused on Matt, trying to predict where he would strike next. She knew she had no real chance of beating the swordsman; her blade looked like a toothpick compared to Equilibrium. On top of that, she was only passable with a dagger, whereas Matt had been using swords for years and was an expert with them. Anna only hoped she could delay him long enough for whatever spell he was under to wear off or for Lance to recover and help. Matt lunged forward, his foot stomping down as he stabbed towards Anna. The ranger swiftly twisted aside, but hissed as the blade ripped through her armor and grazed her ribs. She moved even further back, one hand pressed to the stinging cut on her side.

Lance came silently leaping in from behind Matt, gunblade raised overhead for a slash, hoping to catch the swordsman off guard, but Matt spun around, and caught the attack with ease. With a flick of his own blade, the swordsman deflected the blow to the side. Lance landed and immediately flung himself to the floor to dodge a slash from the swordsman. He swung his leg out to try and sweep Matt's feet from under him only to miss as Matt jumped the leg and planted his sword, using it to flip over and land behind the gunner. Lance rolled back to his feet with a curse. He and Matt circled warily, each panting and waiting for an opening. Lance knew with a dismal certainty that he was nowhere near as skilled in swordplay as Matt and he hoped that he could last long enough for his friend to snap back to reality or become too exhausted to fight. He didn't want to think of what any of the other alternatives were.

Matt leapt forward again and Lance suddenly found himself under assault from a blindingly fast series of slashes. He deflected or dodged as many as he could, but still sustained a few minor cuts in his arms and legs. Matt retreated some to dodge a retaliating slash from Lance and feinted a swing at the gunner's legs only to change directions with the speed of a viper when Lance moved to block. Lance twisted in time to dodge the upward slash, but it was a near thing. He swung at Matt only to get caught in another blade lock. The swordsman took one hand off of the hilt and slammed a blindingly fast punch into Lance's jaw, sending the gunner reeling. White light exploded across Lance's vision and he brought his own blade up to blindly defend from the next attack.

Matt's weapon slammed against Lance's gunblade near the hilt and with a twist, he disarmed the gunner. Lance's red eyes widened in shock and fear as his weapon flew from his hand to clatter to the floor. He grunted as Matt threw another kick into his chest, sending him to the ground. Lance gasped for air as he rolled over and watched in numb horror as Matt raised Equilibrium overhead to execute him—blue eyes flashing with savage triumph. At the height of the arc of his swing, Matt suddenly gasped in pain and froze in place.

Lance wasted no time in scrambling backwards, breath still wheezing in his throat. He stared at the sparking arrow that had appeared, going clean through Matt's right calf. A second later, and Anna lunged forward to bring the hilt of her dagger down on the swordsman's temple, knocking him out. Matt's eyes rolled back and he fell limp, his sword falling from his grasp to land beside him with a clang. Anna rolled the swordsman over and pulled a spare shirt from his Adventure Pouch to securely tie his hands behind his back. She then stood and rushed over to where Lance lay on the ground panting and coughing.

"Are you okay?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

Lance groaned as Anna helped him to sit up. The places where Matt had hit him were throbbing with dull aches and his body shook with leftover adrenalin. He opened his eyes to find the ranger already pulling her wooden flute out. A few seconds later and he sighed, closing his eyes again in relief, as Anna's healing magic washed over him. Reopening his eyes, Lance frowned as he saw the blood still staining the slash in her armor and he could see that she hadn't yet healed herself.

"We can talk after you heal yourself," Lance said firmly.

He watched as Anna rolled her eyes, flute already at her lips for another healing spell. Soon the gash was gone from both her skin and her armor. As soon as she was done, she dropped her flute and lunged forward to wrap her arms around Lance. The gunner pulled her tight against him and felt her trembling. With a soft kiss to the top of her head, he pulled back and looked over at where Matt lay bound and unconscious on the floor, arrow still in his leg. Anna pulled back as well, wiping her eyes as she followed his gaze.

"What now?" the ranger asked quietly. She stood and cautiously approached the limp swordsman.

Lance heaved a sigh and stood as well. He moved to stand next to her, looking down at Matt. For a few seconds, he remained silent, thinking. Finally, he nodded and bent down to pull Matt's Adventure Pouch from his waist. That done, he checked the knot holding the swordsman's hands, and finding it secure, dragged the limp body away from Equilibrium.

"We'll leave the arrow in for now; at least until we can be sure he's back to normal," Lance said. He reached into his own adventure pouch and pulled out his canteen.

Anna grabbed his arm before he could pour the water on Matt's face. "What if he isn't when he wakes up?" she asked quietly.

Lance swallowed, "Then I guess knock him back out and carry him out. If Natalie were here, we could have her Purify him, but she isn't. Worst comes to worst, we'll leave Matt in the prison in Whitefall Town while we head after Natz and hope none of the Origin members find him there before we return."

The ranger shuddered, but nodded and let go of Lance's sleeve. She watched with wide, fearful eyes as Lance poured some water on Matt's face. A few seconds later, and the swordsman groaned, causing Lance and Anna to step back warily. His blue eyes flickered open to stare cross-eyed at the ceiling.

Matt blinked for a few seconds until he stopped seeing double before he tried to sit up. That was when he found out his hands had been tied behind his back. Immediately, he gasped and rolled over to see Lance and Anna watching him warily.

"Guys? Mind helping me out here?" he asked them. When the pair simply stood there silently he frowned, "Seriously, I don't know what the looks are for, but could you untie me, please? And where's Natalie?"

Suddenly, Matt's eyes widened as he remembered that the mage had been kidnapped. He pushed the pain in his head aside and tried to sit up only to fall back down with a sharp cry as pain flared from his leg. Matt looked down to see an arrow lodged in his calf. His head whipped back around to stare accusingly up at Anna who merely flinched and looked at her feet. The swordsman shifted his glare to Lance who stared back impassively.

"What the hell, guys?" Matt snapped. He glared at the both of them and struggled to pull his arms free. Finding no give to whatever was binding his hands he gave up and glared at the two in front of him. "Fine, leave me tied, whatever, but tell me why at least," Matt snarled.

Anna was the one to quietly reply, "We were ambushed by Origin. They grabbed Natalie and fled, but a bunch stayed to hold us off."

"I know that, but it doesn't explain why you decided to attack me," Matt snapped.

"Actually it does. At least, eventually," Lance replied. He was still carefully watching the swordsman to be sure that everything was okay. The gunner met Matt's eyes, "The last mage hit you with a spell. I don't know what it was, but you went berserk. You attacked both of us when we were about to go after Natalie. If it weren't for Anna shooting you and knocking you unconscious, I'd be dead right now."

Matt stared at the pair in disbelief until fuzzy memories came back to him. The images were blurry and seemed to be through a red haze, but he realized that Lance told the truth. He could see Anna's fearful eyes as she frantically dodged his stab. He remembered disarming Lance and being seconds away from murdering him. Matt felt tears begin to burn in his eyes and he shut them, missing Lance motioning to Anna to untie him.

"You should have just killed me and gone after Natalie," he murmured. He felt a blade slide under his bindings and slice his hands free, but stayed lying down.

Lance snorted, "And how the heck would we explain that one to Natalie? 'Oh, sorry, we killed Matt before we came to rescue you because he was being a nuisance. You can find another boyfriend, right?' She'd murder us with her bare hands."

Matt shook his head, "She's probably already dead and it will be my entire fault."

Anna moved to pick up her wooden flute and proceeded to heal Matt's injuries. She put her instrument away and planted her hands on her hips. "Look, you didn't mean to attack us and you definitely didn't want Natz kidnapped."

Lance nodded in agreement, "Get up and put that train of thought out of your head right now. Besides, they wouldn't go through all the trouble of kidnapping Natz and sic'ing you on us if they just planned to kill her right away. Now let's go."

Matt pushed himself to stand up and moved to retrieve Equilibrium from where it lay on the floor. He turned back around to find Lance holding an Adventure Pouch out. Realizing they must have taken it from him, Matt silently accepted the bag and tied it back to his waist. He then followed behind the other two as they hurried out of the room. They jogged back through the cavern, following the markers until they had returned to the room where they fought the Crystal Golem. Anna sprinted ahead to check for tracks outside, despite the warning shout Lance gave. She spied some tracks in the snow outside leading away from the cave.

"Hurry up, guys. These tracks are going to be covered by fresh snow soon," Anna called sharply.

She ignored the glare Lance gave her for running ahead and began jogging through the snow. Her eyes remained fixed on the trail as far ahead as she could see it in the fading light. The footprints headed straight south-east, skirting past the edge of Whitefall Town. Lance and Matt jogged a little ways behind the ranger, both silent.


	9. Chapter 9

Night fell and the wind picked up as the three traveled. Finally, Anna stopped, shoulders heaving just as they entered a small valley.

The ranger turned to the other two, "We need to stop for the night."

Matt's head snapped around to glare at Anna, "We can't! They have Natalie and a head start."

Lance glanced between the two of them, "He has a point, Anna."

"No, we stop now," Anna said firmly, her face set. She gestured to the sky. Snow fell thickly and the wind was rapidly picking up to a howl. "I've been through here in conditions like this and you don't want to be caught in the open, especially at night. If we keep going now, we're going to get turned around and lost. We'll lose sight of each other in the snow and the only thing after that is that one or all of us freezes to death."

The ranger's eyes softened as she took in the distressed expression on Matt's face, "I know you're worried about Natalie, Matt, but we're no use to her dead. The walls of this valley will block most of the wind and I know where a small cave is here that we can use for shelter. These storms almost always clear up by daybreak and we can head back out then."

Matt's shoulders slumped in defeat and he nodded. He followed silently behind the ranger as she led them a little further until she rounded a boulder and seemed to vanish. The other two stopped and blinked in shock until Anna poked her head out and motioned for the others to follow. Lance led the way and realized the boulder's shadow hid the entrance to a small cave. Inside, there was a small stack of branches and a pile of pine needles in the back. Closer to the entrance was a pile of half-burned branches. The three all fit in the small cave, but Matt and Lance couldn't stand up straight due to the low ceiling.

Lance settled on the pine needles with his back against the chilly wall and pulled a blanket out of his adventure pouch to wrap around his shoulders. He looked around the small cave as Anna worked to start a small fire for light and warmth. "So is this a frequent place you stayed at while we were gone?" the gunner asked.

Anna nodded as she arranged the wood, "Yes, I usually came here instead of staying in Whitefall Town whenever I was in the area. I found it by accident when I tried to cross the snow field in a blizzard; which was a really bad plan, by the way. Anyway, I had one hand on the wall and I tumbled inside. There's a forest on the other side of the valley that I got the wood from. As far as I know, Origin doesn't know about this place, and nothing's been moved since I last stopped here."

The ranger settled back beside Lance as the fire finally crackled to life and smiled as he tucked an edge of the blanket around her. She glanced at where Matt was miserably hunched against the wall near the entrance. The swordsman was shivering, but he made no move to be closer to the fire or to pull out any blanket. Anna exchanged a look with Lance. The gunner gave a small shrug as he eyed Matt with concern.

"Come here, Matt. I don't have enough wood stocked to burn all night and you'll be far warmer at the back of the cave with us," Anna said.

Matt shrugged and quietly said, "No thanks."

"Don't be stupid. It's only going to get colder; you'll freeze over there," Lance snapped as Matt's jaw clenched to prevent his teeth from chattering.

The swordsman glanced over at the pair, but didn't move from where he sat. "I'll be fine. I don't want to attack you again," Matt murmured.

Lance glared at the swordsman and stood up from where he was huddled with Anna, "You aren't going to attack us. If I thought you were still dangerous, you'd still be tied up and unconscious." He grabbed Matt by the upper arm and forcefully dragged him back to the pine needles before he let go. "Okay, you're here. And look! We're here, too, _and_ you aren't stabbing us. Imagine that," Lance said in a voice heavy with sarcasm. The gunner blocked Matt's escape route until he was sure the swordsman wasn't going to try and bolt.

Matt eyed his friend, but didn't make any move to get up. Instead, he leaned back against the wall, making sure to leave plenty of space between him and Anna, with his shoulders tense. Involuntarily, he sighed as it was quite a bit warmer away from the draft at the entrance. Lance rolled his eyes and settled back down in between Matt and Anna, ignoring the swordsman's increasingly tense form. The ranger tugged another blanket free from her Adventure Pouch and passed it to Lance who threw it over Matt. Finally, Matt couldn't take it anymore.

The swordsman jerked up straight and glared at his two friends. "I just nearly killed both of you; how can you two be so calm with me right here?" Matt yelled. He tried to back up only to find Lance's hand grasping his wrist with an iron grip. The swordsman stared at Lance with wild eyes and tried to tug his arm free. "Let me go! I could snap at any moment and I don't want to hurt you," Matt yelled as he struggled.

Lance growled and yanked Matt forward, catching the swordsman's shoulder with his free hand. He met Matt's wild blue gaze with irritated red eyes. "You aren't going to snap, but I might if you don't stop yelling," the gunner snarled.

Anna spoke up next, "Look, Matt, I get that you think the spell might still have some control over you, but magic doesn't work that way. The only way you could hurt us now would be if you actually wanted too, or if your yelling attracts the wrong attention." She nodded as Matt froze and his mouth snapped shut, "Good. Now then; you're our good friend so we're hardly going to let you freeze to death. And as Lance said earlier: Natalie would be very upset if you died. Besides, I nearly killed you the first time we met and so did Lance, do you think we're about to turn on you and attack you for no reason?"

The calm, reasonable tone calmed Matt further. He heaved a shuddering sigh and nodded, "You're right. Sorry."

"I'm glad that we've got that cleared up. Now settle down, and get back under that blanket. And don't freak out again; every time I get up I have to reheat the blanket," Lance grumbled, settling back beside Anna.

Matt nodded mutely and pulled the blanket around his shoulders. He cautiously inched a little closer to the other two and settled back against the wall with them. Their body heat combined with the small fire kept the small cave warm. Now that the swordsman had calmed down, he started to nod off. Lance grumbled in mild irritation as Matt slumped over sideways, head landing to rest on the gunner's shoulder.

Anna giggled at the sight. Snuggling closer to Lance, she laid her head on his other shoulder and murmured in an amused voice, "At least he's extra heat."

"More like, at least he's going to stop being stupid for at least a few hours," Lance muttered. Inwardly, he was glad that Matt had finally relaxed enough to fall asleep. He had never seen his friend so anxious of something besides Natalie being injured before, and hoped that the swordsman would be more level-headed in the morning.

Anna sighed and stared into the fire. "Why would they want to kidnap Natalie?" she wondered quietly.

Lance remained silent, watching the flames flicker and dance. Finally he sighed and said, "It's tough to say. Natalie is a very powerful mage; maybe they need her to do something for them. Regardless of why they grabbed her, we need to get her back." Anna hummed an agreement.

Lance shook his head, slowly to avoid waking Matt, "I'm more worried by how effective that ambush was. They knew where we were going to be and waited until they knew they could trap us there. Plus, they hit Matt with that spell. If one of us had been hit, we would have been far easier to stop. They knew Matt would take the most time and the most effort to subdue without killing him, if we managed it at all—which we obviously did."

"So you're saying they have someone with brains on their side, huh?" Anna murmured. She sighed and shifted slightly before speaking again, "Great, I don't like the enemy having a tactician."

Lance gave a quiet laugh, "Neither do I. Now then, let's get some rest, too. We need to move fast tomorrow."

The gunner smiled as Anna mumbled something that sounded vaguely like ' _goodnight_ ' and went limp against his side. The gunner glanced sideways at her with a soft look. He cast glanced to his other side at Matt and gave a quiet, exasperated sigh before finally relaxing and falling asleep.

**DDDDDD**

Lance woke first the next day to find that Matt had shifted off of his shoulder. The swordsman now lay on pine needles, blanket wrapped around him. Anna also moved off of his other shoulder and now had her head resting on his lap. The gunner carefully shifted Anna off of him and stood up, mindful of the low ceiling. He winced at the sore muscles in his neck, shoulders, and back. He carefully stretched his arms in front of him, gritting his teeth against the ache as his stiff shoulders protested the movement.

Rolling his neck a few times and hearing a series of pops and clicks, Lance muttered, "Note to self: do not sleep upright against a cold stone wall."

Matt's voice came from behind him, "Or let your friends use you as a pillow."

The gunner turned around to see Matt sitting up and watching him. Lance shot his friend a smirk, "Chase you off after I worked so hard to get you to stay still? Not a chance."

The swordsman gave a sheepish smile, "Good point. I'm sorry about last night."

Lance shrugged, "As long as you don't do the same thing all day today."

"No worries, you guys got your point across last night," Matt assured him.

"Good, now let's get Anna up and get moving," Lance said.

He stepped over and gently shook the ranger's shoulder. Anna yawned and sat up with pine needles stuck in her hair. She blinked at the other two already awake and grinned.

"I'm the last one up today, huh?" she asked, picking pine needles from her hair.

Matt grinned back, "Yup; must be getting lazy."

"She isn't getting lazy; it's just earlier than normal. I don't think the sun will be up for another hour or so," Lance said, waving a hand at the still dark entrance to the cave.

Anna shrugged and stood up, "The storm sounds like it's died down, though. Let's go."

She led the way out of the cave into the deep snow of the short valley. There was still snow falling, but it wasn't as thick or being driven on a heavy wind. The area was dark around them and Lance used his crystal to light the way, careful to keep the glow dim so as to avoid alerting enemies for as long as possible. The three came out at the far end of the valley to see endless hills of snow stretching away in front of them broken only by a darker smudge of a forest to the east. A chill wind blew across the open space and the three shivered as it crept past the warmth provided by their armor.

"Now which way?" Lance wondered aloud.

Anna hesitated before pointing to the forest, "Let's start the search there. I doubt the assassins would have headed across the snowfield with an unconscious prisoner, and that forest is the only other terrain around here. I can look for signs of their passing through there."

Matt nodded and led the way across the snow, heading for the trees. As soon as they were inside the low forest, Anna hunched over with her own crystal lit. She began quartering the ground, eyes moving constantly as she searched for any tracks. Lance and Matt silently walked behind, watching her work. Both were tense as they waited, hoping the ranger would come up with something that suggested their quarry had passed through here.

"Here! Somebody passed under this tree," Anna suddenly exclaimed.

The other two jumped forward to where the ranger knelt on the ground. They stared at the patch of dirt Anna was looking at, but didn't see anything unusual about it. Still, they followed her as she began to lead them further into the trees. They walked for a few hours, Anna still hot on the trail. The sun had risen so she could get them moving a little faster. Occasionally the ranger would point something out to them like a place of disturbed snow between the trees where someone had fallen, or a large patch of dirt where she could get an estimate of how many guys were still alive in their enemy's group.

"Looks like three, maybe four guys are still alive. By the distance of the steps and the fact that they're there at all, we can assume they ran through here," Anna told the others.

Matt stared blankly at the ground, but didn't see anything there that could tell her that. "How do you know that? All I see is a patch of dirt," the swordsman asked. He glanced over at Anna and waved his hands in front of him at the irritated expression on the ranger's face. "It's not that I doubt you, but I'm curious," he hastily explained.

Placated, Anna turned to start walking. "Well first off, I've been tracking for years so I can see the little differences in my surroundings. What looks like a scuff, or a random snapped twig, or a simple dent can tell a tracker a lot of things," she explained, eyes still sweeping the ground in front of her. "Second, the ground here is frozen so the only way to make any indents would be to apply extra force. The spacing of the shallow dents back there are too much to be a normal walking pace and when you run, your feet apply more force to each step; that's how the dents got there at all. I can guess how many by the number of tracks, though it's possible that one of the guys is too light to leave a mark even while running."

"I see," Matt said with a nod.

Lance spoke up suddenly. "So if they stopped running, we'd lose the trail?" he asked with a frown of concern.

Anna hesitated some before answering, "Possibly, they've left other signs here too, but they're less common and can be from other things. I'd have to slow down a lot to be sure of what I'm seeing and that means they get further ahead." She suddenly gave a short laugh of amusement. "They've been following a really straight path, though. Even if they decided to do the smart thing at this point and stop running, we could probably still track them fairly easily."

"Why not just run straight then? Why even bother following a trail?" Matt asked.

"Because even if they seem to be heading in a set direction that could change, and I might miss the signs. We'd have to backtrack and pick up their trail again, which would waste a lot of time," Anna explained patiently. She glanced back over her shoulder at the swordsman, "I know this is slower, but trust me when I say it's far better to follow a sure trail than to assume and find out you were wrong." She turned back to the tracks and fell silent.

Lance and Matt were quiet as well and, turning their focus to the forest surrounding them. For a few minutes nothing was said and the only sounds were their feet crunching in the snow. Anna suddenly spoke again.

"There are a couple of things that worry me, though," the ranger murmured.

Lance frowned, "Like what?"

Anna waved a hand at the trees surrounding them, "It's too quiet. We've been walking for hours and we haven't heard or seen a single monster. I'm actively looking for tracks; I should see some kind of trace of an animal or monster, but nothing's there."

Matt and Lance exchanged surprised glances.

"You're right, that is weird," Matt murmured.

Lance nodded, "I can't think of many reasons for that either; maybe because it's so cold? Or maybe there isn't enough food here to support larger creatures," He watched as Anna shrugged. "What's the other thing that's bugging you?"

"It's more of it could become an issue," Anna said. She paused and turned to the other two. "We got caught in a very well set ambush in the caves, right? Why are they so easy to follow now? Whoever set that trap probably knows I'm a skilled tracker. I'm worried that this is another trap."

The other two's eyes widened as they stared at Anna. Suddenly, the quiet of the forest seemed oppressive. Matt's face had gone pale as he considered what might happen if they hit him with another berserk spell. Lance glanced sideways at his friend before his face set in determination.

"We'll just have to deal with it if it happens," the gunner firmly said. He glanced between Anna and Matt. "It's also possible that there is no trap because they thought Matt would kill both of us. But, trap or no, we need to follow them to get Natalie back. Matt, I want you to switch back to Heaven's Gate. I doubt they'll try the same trick twice, but anything to make another potential tangle easier on us."

The swordsman's face was pale, but he nodded and stuffed Equilibrium in his Adventure Pouch. He pulled the familiar gleaming silver, gold, and red blade out to replace it.

Lance turned to Anna, "How far do you think they would have managed to get at this point?"

The ranger frowned and chewed on her lower lip, thinking. She glanced at the trail behind her, then up at the cloudy sky. Finally, she turned back to Lance and said, "It's tough to say. They probably got into the trees before that storm last night, and I haven't seen any evidence of them having stopped to rest, yet. Plus, we don't know how far wherever they're headed to is. If they alternated between jogging and running the entire time, which is likely by their trail, then I would say very far; several miles, at least."

Matt's jaw dropped, "Several miles? How far have we gone?"

Anna shrugged uncertainly, "I can't be sure. I haven't been tracking the distance, after all."

Lance waved his hand dismissively, "It doesn't really matter; we're not done until we've found Natalie. The reason I want to know how far they might have been able to get is because I know we should be breaking out of the snow soon. That mountain range we were going to head for is near here. I'm wondering if that's where they're headed. Mountain passes are an ideal place to set a trap."

"So you think they're making a beeline for the mountains?" Anna asked with a frown. Finally, she gave a decisive nod, "Let's pick up the pace to a jog. If I lose sight of any of the obvious marks then we'll need to slow down, but the less time they have to perfect any potential traps, the better."

The other two nodded and they started jogging. The trail remained consistently straight and Anna increased her pace some. They still saw no monsters, but Anna called another halt a few hours later. Matt reluctantly slowed and turned to the ranger with a look of impatience, breathing heavily. Lance was panting as well as he raised a confused eyebrow at the sudden stop. Anna turned to look at them apologetically, but didn't say anything in favor of catching her breath. Her shoulders heaved and sweat dripped down her face. Lance frowned in concern at her evident exhaustion as the ranger leaned against a nearby tree.

"Sorry guys, just… just gimme a minute," Anna huffed out.

She slumped to sit on the ground and pulled out her canteen to take a few sips of water. Matt shifted impatiently as he waited for Anna to catch her breath. Lance glanced at the swordsman, but whatever he might have wanted to say was cut off as Anna stood up.

"Okay, I'm set. Let's go," she said.

The gunner scanned her tired face, but kept quiet as she started jogging again; though he did move to jog a little closer to Anna. He listened to her heavy breathing as she maintained her jog. Her face was set in determination, even though she was clearly exhausted. An hour later and she slowed to a walk and then a stop.

Matt glared at the back of her head for the second stop. He waited for a few minutes before he finally said, "Can we go now? I don't want Natalie stuck with Origin for any longer than absolutely necessary."

"Give her time to catch her breath. Women can't run as efficiently as men," Lance said with a warning look at the swordsman to back off.

Anna's shoulders stiffened at the quiet comment and she started another slow jog. Lance heaved a sigh and started after the ranger with Matt beside him. After another hour Anna stopped again. Matt released an aggravated breath and opened his mouth to start yelling when Anna swayed and collapsed.

Lance was at her side in an instant. The ranger's muscles trembled and she was panting heavily. He rolled Anna over and pulled his canteen out. Slowly and carefully, he poured some water into her mouth and watched as she reflexively swallowed. A few seconds later and the ranger's eyes fluttered open. She tried to sit up, but was held down by Lance. The gunner leaned back and looked up at Matt. The swordsman looked torn between concern and impatience.

"We need to take a short rest," Lance said.

Matt chose impatience over concern, "And while we're resting, they're getting further away with Natalie!"

Lance felt Anna flinch under the hand he had on her shoulder and held her down as she tried once again to rise. He glared at Matt and snapped, "And what do you think will happen if we're too tired to do anything once we do catch up to them?"

Matt glared back. "I'm not tired. I say keep going."

Anna made another move to try to sit up and Lance shifted his glare to the ranger, "Stay still, Anna." Turning back to Matt, the gunner matched the glare he was receiving. "Look Matt, maybe you aren't tired, but Anna is. She's the only one who can track their group, and right now she needs to rest."

"Then carry her. We need to go," Matt snapped back.

Lance blew up, "Are you even thinking right now? We're tracking a group of trained fighters who have a hostage and I am sure they will have no problems exploiting that fact. The only one who can find said group has literally run herself to the ground because we've pushed too hard. She also happens to be the only one here with any healing magic, which becomes less effective when the caster is tired. To make matters worse, we could be heading straight into a trap. We're tired, we're stressed, we haven't eaten since yesterday, and it is making us irritable. I can almost guarantee that those facts will lead to potentially deadly mistakes. We are resting for the next half hour and that is final."

Matt let out a growl, but threw himself to sit down. He leveled a glare at Lance and when the gunner ignored him, he turned the glare on Anna as she was finally allowed to sit up. The ranger flinched back at the uncharacteristic anger in Matt's gaze. Lance shifted between her and Matt's glare and pulled some random bits of food from his Adventure Pouch. He handed some to Anna who immediately stuffed the food in her mouth. The gunner turned to find Matt already eating something of his own while still glaring at them. Lance rolled his eyes and sat beside Anna.

Anna shifted uncomfortably as she rested. Matt kept glaring at her and it made a feeling of guilt rise up. She finally turned her head to the side to avoid seeing the glare, but she could still feel it burning into the back of her head. The ranger felt a lump rise into her throat and she desperately shoved it back down before it made her cry.

"Can we go now or does Anna still need more rest?" Matt asked impatiently.

"It's only been ten minutes. Stop trying to guilt Anna into moving now," Lance snapped.

"Godcat forbid I be in any kind of rush to save Natz while you two decide to be lazy. Or maybe Anna can only run when she's in danger of getting killed," Matt muttered.

Anna flinched again and there were a few seconds of stunned silence. Tears formed in the ranger's eyes as she hunched down to avoid the completely unapologetic glare Matt was still fixing them with. Lance sprang up and hauled Matt to his feet by the front of his Fur Armor. Matt actually shrank back some at the rage in Lance's blazing red eyes.

Lance snarled right into the swordsman's face, "Quit being an ass, Matt. No one here is 'deciding to be lazy,' and throwing comments like that around is not going to help anyone. Insulting us is not going to bring Natalie back nor will it make us recover any more quickly. That second comment was especially way out of line, and if I hear you say anything like that again, then you are going to find yourself as target practice."

He threw Matt back to the ground and glared down at him, "We are your teammates and we are your friends, but right now I'm having a hard time trying to remember why I think you're my friend. Really, the only thing keeping me wanting to move at this point is the fact that Natalie doesn't deserve whatever it is they want to do with her. Now stay there, shut up, and stop glaring at us." With that, the gunner whirled and stalked back to sit beside Anna. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pointedly avoided looking back at the stunned swordsman.

Matt stared at his two friends. Lance had moved to gently rubbing Anna's back while the ranger remained facing away from both of them. Matt eyed the way Anna's shoulders trembled and despite the lack of any sobs, he had a sinking feeling that she was crying. " _Some friend I am,_ " Matt thought to himself bitterly. He stared down at his hands as he curled them into fists. He titled his head back to look at the cloudy sky through the branches. " _I'm having a hard time remembering why they want to be my friend, too. It seems all I can manage to do recently is hurt them. What kind of friend does that?_ "

The time passed in tense silence. Anna still hadn't turned around, but her shoulders had stopped shaking. Lance had his arm back around her shoulders and was still refusing to look at Matt. Matt had remained silent, still mentally berating himself. Finally, Lance stood up and helped Anna stand. Without a word to Matt, he motioned for Anna to lead. The ranger didn't bother looking back at Matt either; instead continuing to follow the trail with slumped shoulders. The swordsman silently followed behind them.

Night fell and they had left the snowy part of the forest behind them, still heading in a direct path east. After a few hours of walking through the darkness, Lance called a halt for some sleep and was surprised when Matt said nothing. The swordsman merely moved to gather some branches, and soon a small fire was burning. Anna fell asleep almost as soon as she lied down. Lance and Matt sat on opposite sides of the fire, still in tense silence. The gunner stood and put the fire out without a word to Matt. He then moved to lay behind Anna, and fell asleep.

Matt looked at the sleeping pair, eyes running over the exhaustion etched in both of their faces, despite being asleep. He felt another pang of self-loathing as he moved to lie down under his own blanket. The swordsman acutely missed the presence of Natalie, and he wondered how she was holding up and what she would say if she were here.

"She'd smack me for how I've treated them, if she were here," Matt murmured to himself.

He was just drifting off when he heard a snap in the trees and jolted fully awake. Bolting upright, the swordsman looked around. There was a rustle and another snap, slightly further than before. Matt swallowed and stood up, pulling his sword out. Briefly, he considered waking Lance up, but a glance at the gunner's exhausted face chased that idea away. Deciding they needed their rest, Matt cautiously stepped away from his sleeping friends and slipped into the trees.

The swordsman carefully avoided stepping on anything but moss and bare dirt as he crept towards the rustling noise. Suddenly, there were rustles from all around and Matt jerked back a step. Seven cloaked figures dropped out of the trees to surround the lone swordsman. Swallowing heavily, Matt raised his sword and eyed the assassins that slowly circled him. He began to seriously regret not waking the others.

"Well now, what do we have here?" one assassin asked in a darkly amused voice.

A second man spoke up, "Looks like a lone, lost, boy to me."

"How should we deal with him?" another voice asked.

Matt shivered as there were chuckles from all around him paired with the metallic sound of blades being drawn. He gripped the hilt of Heaven's Gate tightly and blurred into motion as the assassins descended upon him.

**DDDDDD**

Back at the campsite, Lance jerked upright as the sound of metal clashing and screams rang out from somewhere nearby. He blinked to adjust to the darkness as he shook Anna awake with a hand over her mouth to keep her silent. The ranger came to alertness swiftly and stood while Lance moved to wake Matt. The gunner froze and gaped at the abandoned blanket where Matt had been sitting the night before.

"Shit, that fighting is probably Matt. Why the hell would he run off while we were asleep?" Lance hissed.

The gunner glared at the blanket for a split second before spinning to follow the sounds of the fight. Anna kept pace beside him, Sky Feather in hand. The pair broke into a sprint as the sounds abruptly stopped. Lance skidded to a stop with Anna beside him as they came upon a clearing littered with bodies and the heavy scent of blood hanging in the air. There were a few final groans and choking noises that faded into silence.

Lance swallowed heavily as he moved forward. A green glow from Anna's crystal flared from behind him to light the clearing. Most of the bodies were covered with the familiar robes of Origin assassins. Blood stained the torn fabric and covered the ground. The gunner froze, heart stopping, as he spotted Matt lying ominously still at the far end of the clearing with his back turned to them. Heaven's Gate lay abandoned on the ground beside him, the blade stained with blood. Anna let out a quiet cry as she followed Lance's sprint forward to stop beside Matt.

Lance dropped to his knees and hesitantly reached forward to touch the still shoulder. "Matt…?" he hesitantly asked. Relief flooded the gunner as a weak groan answered him.

Carefully, Lance grabbed the swordsman's shoulder and rolled him to lie on his back. He recoiled at the bloody mess covering Matt's front. Some of the blood was the enemy's, certainly, but most of it was likely Matt's. There were three separate stab wounds in the swordsman's stomach and one of them still had a dagger lodged in it. Multiple slashes crossed his arms and chest. All of the wounds still leaked blood. The swordsman's face was pale from blood loss and his eyes were shut. Anna's healing magic swelled up and green light washed over the swordsman.

"Godcat, what possessed you to come out here alone?" Lance asked in horror.

As Lance continued to stare at the wounds, Matt cracked one eye open and weakly whispered, "You should see… the other guys." Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth as it twitched into a small grin. The smile soon faded as a faint grimace of pain flickered across his face.

"Don't talk, save your strength" Lance ordered him. His heart thudded rapidly as Matt's one open eye began to slide closed. "Don't go to sleep, Matt," Lance begged, giving his friend a couple of light slaps to the face. Matt opened both eyes, but it was clear how much the effort exhausted him.

Anna's first healing song finished and she immediately launched into another. The wounds were deep and the magic took a lot of time to work. Matt's eyes began to drift shut again and Lance gave him another light slap. The swordsman's eyes slid open again.

"Talk to me, Matt," Lance said frantically.

Matt's mouth quirked into a faint smirk, "I thought… you wanted me to… be quiet?"

"I changed my mind," Lance said. He watched as the wounds in his friend's stomach finally began to close. Anna's second song came to an end and the third one started up. His eyes snapped back to Matt's face and his heart stopped when he saw the swordsman's own eyes closed, " _Matt!_ " He released a huge sigh of relief when Matt's eyes cracked open once more.

"Don' haffta yell, 'm right here. Whaddya want me t' talk 'bout?" the swordsman slurred.

Lance tried to ignore the degrading strength of his friend's voice. He frantically cast about for a topic and settled on his earlier question, "Why did you come out here alone?"

Matt's dulling eyes opened a little wider, "'Erd a noise. Y'guys were tired so I went t' check it out 'lone."

"You heard a noise and went to check it out alone because we were tired? You should have woken us up, anyway," Lance gently berated.

Anna's third song ended and the deep stab wounds finally sealed off; the dagger caught in the swordsman's flesh vanishing in a flash of green light. The ranger launched into a fourth round of magic. Lance glanced around to see how she was holding up, but turned back when Matt spoke again.

"M'srry for being 'n ass," Matt murmured his voice even weaker than before. His eyes blinked shut before slowly opening again. He hazily sought Lance's eyes out, and made a visible effort to speak clearly, "You guys're better friends than me. You'll save Natz, right?" His dull blue eyes desperately pleaded with Lance and his voice was tinted with a note of resigned finality.

For the first time since Anna's supposed death, Lance felt the urge to sob. "Don't be so dramatic, you'll be fine. Anna's already got your stomach fixed up," he told Matt with tears burning in the backs of his eyes. Anna's fourth round ended and the deepest slashes on Matt's chest sealed off. "See? Now your chest is good, too," Lance said in a choked voice.

"I think… I'm okay… for one more. Keep… him talking," Anna panted. She didn't wait for a reply and started playing one final round of Renew.

Lance nodded faintly. He swallowed thickly before speaking again, "Hear that, Matt? One more and you'll be good to go. Don't you dare die because I know Natalie will be very upset with us."

Matt released an amused sigh, "'Though' you 'aid not t' be… dramatic? 'Keep changin' yer mind."

"I know, but you're scaring me here," Lance admitted.

"Huh… didn' think I mattered much t'you, 'nymore," Matt breathed. His voice was barely audible by this point.

Lance felt his heart clench in pain at the slurred words. When he had told Matt that he was having a hard time remembering why they were friends, he had never thought the swordsman would assume that meant he no longer mattered to him at all. Before the gunner could say anything—and right before the fifth round of healing ended—Matt's eyes shut with a shallow sigh and his head limply fell to the side.

Lance lightly shook his friend, heart in his throat. The swordsman had clearly taken his earlier words to heart if they were on his mind while he was dying. And if Matt died because of the aftermath of a stupid argument, believing that he was a worse friend than they were and that they didn't care about him, he would never forgive himself. The gunner numbly watched as Anna dropped to her knees beside him and reached out to hold one hand over Matt's mouth. After a few seconds of tense silence, she released a sigh of relief.

"He's still breathing," she announced in a tired, but elated voice.

Lance's eyes shut as a wave of relief swept over him. He reopened them and moved to gently lift Matt up. The swordsman's body was cold and his face was white from blood loss, but he was still alive. Lance tried to avoid thinking about the fact that his friend still needed to make it through the next few hours before they could really trust that he might recover.

Turning to Anna, he scanned her pale face and asked, "Will you be okay to walk back to camp?"

The ranger nodded and hauled herself to her feet. She staggered behind Lance until they reached the campsite. Anna immediately flopped down on the ground and didn't even bother to drag a blanket over herself before passing out.

Lance lowered Matt to lie on the swordsman's abandoned blanket and tucked his own blanket around him. He then turned to rekindle the fire before moving to pull out Anna's bedroll. After he had shifted the sleeping ranger inside, the gunner reached up to scrub at his face tiredly. He froze when he saw the blood covering his hands—specifically, his friend's blood. Lance stared at the red for a few seconds before shuddering. He poured some water from his canteen over his hands and rubbed them clean on a spare cloth. Lance then settled down to keep a vigil, eyes fixed on his friend.


	10. Chapter 10

The minutes seemed to slowly creep by for Lance. He checked Matt's breathing and pulse every few minutes, and to his relief, there was never any negative change. The swordsman's breathing remained shallow, but steady and his pulse remained rapid, but constant. The minutes slowly wound into an hour and still there was little change in Matt's condition. The gunner threw a few more sticks on the fire, checked Matt again, and then moved to check on Anna.

Anna's face was slack, but she had regained most of her color. As Lance watched, the ranger mumbled in her sleep and rolled over. He was tempted to wake her, if only for the company and distraction, but he knew that she needed to rest. Besides, until the sun came up and Lance could radio in for some medicine, Anna was the only one who could do any healing. She had used way more healing magic than Lance had thought possible for her and the best way to replenish her lost mana was through sleep.

The gunner sighed and moved back to sit down next to Matt again. He ran a hand through his red hair and suppressed a yawn. A chill draft blew through the clearing making the flames of the campfire dance. Lance shivered and glanced at the discarded blanket Anna had left out. He stood, grabbed the cover, and moved to toss it around his shoulders before pausing. He looked at the blanket and shook his head.

" _I'll fall asleep if I wrap myself up in this and I need to keep an eye on Matt,_ " Lance thought to himself. With a small nod, he tossed the blanket over Matt and shifted a little closer to the fire to ward off the chill. He stayed there, blankly staring into the flames for another hour. As he sat, his mind ran over the things Matt had said while Anna had desperately tried to heal him and Lance had tried to keep him conscious.

" _He willingly went off alone to check out a suspicious noise because he didn't want to disturb me and Anna. I thought he would have a_ little _more sense than that,"_ Lance thought. He shook his head in frustration, " _And so soon after we told him not to head after Origin alone._ " Lance knew that Matt had been trying to be thoughtful, but all of this could have been avoided if the swordsman had just listened to their advice.

Matt's voice echoed in Lance's mind, " _…didn' think I mattered much t'you, 'nymore…_ "

A pang of guilt pierced the gunner as he realized just how unstable Matt must really be from Natalie's kidnapping. It hadn't been all that apparent—Matt had seemed more-or-less okay for most of the previous day. And yet, now that Lance thought about it, he realized that Matt had grown increasingly irritable as the day went on. Nerves and exhaustion had likely played a role as well, but Lance was willing to bet that much of Matt's uncharacteristic snappishness had come from worry for Natalie. He mentally slapped himself, thinking that he should have known better; his snapping had merely pushed the swordsman further off-balance.

Another thought came to Lance; Matt had been completely silent and complacent after Lance had blown up at him over letting Anna rest. At the time, he had been relieved that the swordsman was done needling them, although he had puzzled once or twice over the attitude about-face. Now he wondered what Matt had been telling himself while they had walked. Whatever it had been, Lance doubted it had been a self-pep-talk—not a positive one, at the very least. Resolving to reassure Matt when he awoke, Lance moved to check on the swordsman again.

Matt's condition hadn't changed at all, which was a relief because it meant he wasn't slipping away. Lance still wished the swordsman would show some sign of improvement, though. He also wished Natalie were here; she had way more experience with healing than the other three combined. Anna and Lance knew a lot between them, but their skills and knowledge paled in comparison to the mage.

Lance let out a near-silent snort of derision at his train of thought, " _If Natalie was here, Matt would be unlikely to be in this state in in the first place._ "

He heaved a sigh as he thought about how Matt's recovery time would affect their pursuit of Natalie and her kidnappers. Lance shook his head and pushed the problem aside for the moment, deciding to focus on one issue at a time.

**DDDDDD**

Hours later, the sun was well into the sky. Lance was still seated by the fire, though he had an almost empty can of energy drink sitting next to him and his eyes were dull with fatigue. Matt was still unconscious, but his breathing and pulse had remained stable through the whole night.

Anna shifted and sat up with a yawn. She stretched her arms over her head and froze when the memories of the night before came flooding back. Her arms dropped and she whipped around to see Lance hunched by the fire. The ranger guessed he had been up all night by the shadows under his eyes. The gunner glanced over at Anna as she stood up and his lips quirked into a tired half-smile.

"'Morning," Lance said in a quiet and tired voice.

"Good morning. How's Matt doing?" Anna replied as she moved to look down on Matt where he lay on the ground. The skin on the swordsman's face was still very pale and there were still small smears of dried blood at the corners of his mouth, but his cheeks had gained some slight color over the night.

The gunner scrubbed his face with his hands and released a tired sigh. "Slightly better, I think? He's still breathing at the very least," Lance said. He lowered his hands and looked up at Anna, "I'm going to call in for some medicine to help with the blood loss. Can you watch him while I head to a clearer area?"

Anna hesitated as she looked over the exhaustion on Lance's face with concern in her eyes. She glanced down at Matt's pale face before glancing back to Lance who was waiting on her reply. The ranger chewed on her lower lip as she struggled with wanting to help Matt and not wanting to let Lance out of sight. A second glance at Matt made the decision for her and her eyes hardened with resolve.

Finally, she sighed and said, "I don't like the idea of you going off anywhere alone and tired, but Matt needs the medicine. Be careful, don't go too far, yell if there's a problem, and hurry right back, okay?"

Lance nodded and stood up. He turned to walk off, only to pause when Anna gave him a hug and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He returned the gesture and gave her a tired, but reassuring smile as she backed away again. Lance moved away, gunblade in one hand, radio in the other, and disappeared into the trees.

The ranger turned and took the spot where Lance had been sitting. She pulled a small piece of cloth out of her Adventure Pouch and folded it over. Anna poured a little water on the fabric and proceeded to clean the smudges of blood off Matt's face. Tears welled in her eyes as she took in his too-pale and too-still features. Wiping the moisture out of her eyes, Anna took a deep calming breath, and reminded herself that Matt was still alive and if he had survived this long, then he was likely to recover—especially once he had some of the medicine Lance had gone to get.

Anna dropped the cloth, now stained a light pink, and moved to pull some dried food out for breakfast. As she chewed, she watched Matt's chest as it slowly rose and fell. She swallowed the last of her food and moved to pull the blankets down to check the wounds on Matt's chest and stomach. The armor was still torn and bloodstained, but the skin underneath was clean and warm. The ranger pulled the blanket back up and leaned back with a sigh of relief.

"No infection, at least; I wasn't sure if Refresh's Bless would protect against that. I guess you might just have gotten lucky, though" she told Matt. The swordsman didn't reply or even twitch, but Anna went on, "You scared the crap out of me and Lance last night; try not to do that again, okay?"

The ranger turned around when she heard footsteps announcing the return of Lance. The gunner held up a Medipack with a tired grin and moved over to sit beside Anna. He pulled the pack open and withdrew a small bottle filled with a clear liquid and a syringe. He carefully drew the fluid into the syringe and pulled the blanket off to inject the medicine into Matt's arm. He tossed the used syringe into the medicine pouch along with the empty bottle and tucked the blanket back around Matt. The gunner leaned back with a sigh that morphed into a yawn.

"Get some sleep, Lance. I can watch Matt," Anna gently ordered.

Lance shook his head, "I'm okay for now. I want to make sure this medicine actually starts working."

Anna sighed and nodded, "Fine, but after that you're sleeping, no more excuses."

The gunner gave a noncommittal grunt. Anna let it slide for the moment and turned her attention back to Matt. They sat in silence for several minutes, watching Matt until they saw the color in his face slowly improve. Lance leaned forward to place two fingers to Matt's neck and his face split in a relieved smile.

"It's working," the gunner breathed as he leaned back again.

Anna felt tears of relief form in her eyes as her own face broke out in a huge grin. She wrapped her arms around Lance. "I was so certain he was going to die last night," she whimpered into the gunner's shoulder.

Lance returned her hug with a tight one of his own. He leaned his cheek to rest on Anna's head and stared at Matt. "Me too," he murmured.

The couple stayed that way for another few moments until Anna pulled back. She fixed Lance with a stern look and pointed to her abandoned bedroll, "Sleep. Now."

She quirked an eyebrow as Lance cast an uncertain, look at the bedroll before returning his gaze to guiltily look at Matt. "I can keep an eye on him just fine, and I promise to wake you if his condition changes at all. Now, get some rest," Anna insisted.

Finally, Lance sighed and nodded. He stood up and moved to crawl into the bedroll. Anna watched as he passed out as soon as his head was down. She turned back to Matt and watched with a small smile as she saw his cheeks had regained even more color. The swordsman remained unconscious, but he was out of the serious danger. Now, it was merely a waiting game until he woke up.

The ranger's smile melted as she glanced back at Lance. " _That look he had in his eyes… he's blaming himself for this. And right after he seemed to finally be getting over what happened at Greenwood, too. But why would he?_ " Anna wondered.

Anna's gaze wandered back to Matt's sleeping face. She had a sneaking suspicion it was something Matt had said the night before. She hadn't been able to hear anything over the sound of her healing magic, and she wondered what Matt could have said that would make Lance blame himself. Whatever it was, she was willing to bet that it was ridiculous.

Her thoughts wandered back to the problem of Natalie's kidnapping. The mage could be anywhere by now and Matt would probably need time to recover enough for travel. Anna frowned; once Matt woke he would never agree to rest before they had rescued Natalie. The ranger sighed and hoped that maybe Matt would get well quickly to travel. She didn't relish the thought of trying to keep him still or of Natalie being held hostage for any longer than necessary.

A few hours passed in silence. Anna spent that time watching over Matt and listening for any sounds in the silent forest around her. She had just started quietly humming to herself when Matt let out a low groan. Anna's heart leapt and she fell silent, leaning forward to intently stare at the swordsman's face.

Matt's eyelids twitched and slowly cracked open only to tightly shut again at the bright sunlight. He let out another groan and rolled his head to the side before trying to open his eyes again. A blurry shape appeared in his vision and he blinked a few times until the shape slid into focus. His face split into a tired grin in response to Anna's ridiculously wide smile.

The swordsman swallowed and made a face. Anna grabbed her canteen and uncapped it. She helped Matt sit up and braced him while he drank a few mouthfuls of water. She gently lowered him to lie back down when he was finished.

Matt watched her in silence for a few seconds as she shook her now-empty canteen with a small frown before she shrugged and set it aside. He returned her smile when she faced him again; though he noted that there were tears in her eyes.

"Thanks, my mouth tasted like blood," he said with a grin. He started and gave a huff when Anna let out a small sob and flung herself forward to drape across his chest. "Er, you okay?" he hesitantly asked after a few seconds when Anna didn't move.

Anna pulled back with a blush and nodded. "I was so scared that you were going to die and I'd never get to talk to you again," she admitted. She wiped her tears away and gave him a watery smile, "I'm so glad you made it." Her smile faded when Matt frowned. "What's wrong? Does something hurt?" she asked in concern.

Matt shook his head, "No, I'm just a little surprised that you're getting so worked up over me."

Anna gave him a confused frown, "You almost died last night. Of course I'm getting worked up."

"That's what I mean; I'm surprised you care," Matt said quietly. He glanced away from her stunned expression and went on, "I… haven't exactly been a good friend lately. I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

Anna's jaw dropped as she stared at Matt in shock. She cast a glance back at where Lance was still sleeping, realization flooding her mind. She shook herself and turned back to face Matt. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard you say," Anna said in a flat tone.

The ranger caught the side of Matt's face with one hand when he turned his head away. She made him look at her before continuing, "We were all stressed and tired. You understandably snapped at us and Lance understandably snapped back. He never meant to make you believe we suddenly couldn't care less about your health or whether you died or not. That is most definitely not the case so never think so again."

The ranger let go of Matt and moved to stand up only to pause when Matt's hand shot out from under the blanket and caught her wrist. The swordsman looked her in the eyes as gave her a small smile, "Thanks Anna. I'm still sorry for yesterday, though."

Anna grabbed his hand as soon as he released her and gave it a gentle squeeze. "No thanks needed, and I forgive you." She let go and stood up, "You might have a hard time with Lance though. He's going to yell your ears off for last night; you scared him very badly."

She grinned as Matt audibly swallowed and moved to shake Lance awake. As soon as the gunner's eyes opened she said, "Hey, sleepy-head, guess who else is awake now?"

Lance shot up to his feet and stared over at where Matt was watching him with clear blue eyes. "Matt! You're okay?" His eyes shut and he slumped with relief when the swordsman nodded. Opening them again, he moved to kneel next to Matt and asked in a quiet voice, "You know you're still my friend, right? And that regardless of whether I'm mad or not, I do still care about what happens to you?"

Matt stared at the intense, desperate look Lance gave him. He swallowed and faintly nodded, "Yes, I do; Anna made sure of that." He blinked in surprise at the blatant relief in Lance's voice when the gunner leaned back and breathed a small ' _Thank Godcat._ ' The swordsman flinched when Lance's eyes reopened to glare at him.

"I cannot _believe_ you thought you'd go check a suspicious noise in the middle of the night, _alone_ , without telling us. I'd ask if you had been pithed, but I think I already know the answer to that. I know Anna and I were tired last night, but that was no reason to be so damn _stupid_ ," Lance ranted as he glared at his friend.

He swept on when Matt opened his mouth, not giving the swordsman a chance to speak. "I am going to say this again, and I hope it will be for the last time: _Do. Not. Go. Out. Alone._ I don't care _what_ your reasoning is or why you think it might be a good plan; don't do it. You came _so_ _damn_ _close_ to dying last night and I _do_ _not_ want to see it again, understand?" Lance said; his firm voice held a pleading note to it. He paused and took a few deep breaths. The gunner eyed Matt's hasty nodding. Giving a nod of his own, he stood up, "Now, how are you feeling?"

Matt shrugged, "Hungry. Tired. There's no pain; I could probably stand up with minimal effort."

Lance nodded, "Good, but don't try standing just yet. Anna grab him some food. We're going to stay around here until Matt's ready to move. Then we're going to save Natalie." He raised a hand to forestall Matt's protest, "I headed back to that clearing to grab your sword when I went to radio for medicine. None of those guys were equipped for a long journey, so I think we must be near a base of operation for them."

Anna piped up from where she had been digging through her Adventure Pouch, "Wait, seriously? We're right next to a base of theirs?"

Lance glanced over at her and nodded, "I think so. If Matt is fit enough tomorrow, then we can head back to the clearing and you can track where ever those guys came from. I bet that's where they took Natalie. The downside to this is that we are in the middle of enemy territory, so Matt, you need to get well enough to move and you need to do it quickly. That means rest, got it?"

Matt nodded; his eyes were bright from both the news and from the small pile of food Anna dumped in his lap. He sat up with no problems and began shoving the food in his mouth. He ignored the exasperated sigh Anna gave as well as Lance's mutter of: "It's like he didn't just almost die less than twenty-four hours ago."

He drained the small carton of juice and released a content sigh, "Much better." Matt glanced down at his ruined armor, "Okay, maybe _much better_ after I change out of this. I'm going to need new armor for the cold."

Before the other two could stop him, he tried to stand up. Lance and Anna were at Matt's side in an instant as his already pale face went white. Anna caught Matt as he fell back with a groan and passed out. She held him there while Lance felt for a pulse. Nodding with satisfaction at the steady heartbeat, he peeled one of the swordsman's eyes open. The gunner watched the pupil shrink and let the eye close again. The gunner gestured for Anna to lower Matt to lie down again.

"He's fine; the idiot just tried to get up too quickly. I just told him to not try standing yet, too," Lance muttered, though relief tinged his voice. He shook his head in exasperation, "I hope this proves to him that we can't move just yet."

Anna sighed in agreement. She gestured to the stained armor Matt wore, "Should we pull that off him? On top of being gross, I doubt that it feels very comfortable."

Lance nodded and moved to untie the various leather laces and straps that held the armor in place. He then shifted Matt's arms over his head and then held him up slightly. Anna grabbed the sleeves of the ruined fur shirt and tugged it off. She made a face as she dropped it on the ground. Lance dug through Matt's Adventure Pouch and pulled out the blue undershirt of Matt's Captain's outfit. Together, he and Anna pulled the shirt over Matt's bare chest and tucked the swordsman back under the blanket.

The pair sat back and Lance gave a yawn, "I'm going to go back to sleep. He'll probably wake up again in a little while. Keep him from trying to get up again and make sure he has some water or juice."

Anna stopped the gunner, "My canteen is empty; I gave the last of it to Matt before I woke you."

Lance hesitated as he passed his own water over. Anna shook it with a frown and listened to the sloshing sound. The container was only about half full.

"We need water. Did you see any streams or anything while you were radioing for medicine?" Anna asked. She frowned when Lance shook his head. With a sigh Anna said, "Matt probably still has some in his, I guess. Normally, I would go scout around, but that obviously isn't an option right now."

"Definitely not," Lance agreed. His eyes widened, "Wait, what about the furball? He could go look for a water source; could probably bring some back, too."

Anna blinked in confusion for a few seconds as she wondered what Lance meant by 'the furball.' Her face suddenly brightened and she exclaimed, "Right; NoLegs! They probably won't go for him; I doubt they would even see him. Okay, get some sleep, I'll summon NoLegs and send him for water."

Lance nodded with another yawn and slumped over to the bedroll. Anna smiled as Lance dropped onto the bedroll and fell asleep. She shook herself and summoned their cat friend. NoLegs appeared in a soft flash of light with a bright meow. He leapt forward and rubbed his head against Anna's legs, purring loudly.

"Good to see you again, NoLegs," Anna said with a wide smile.

She knelt down and rubbed the cat's head. NoLegs purred even louder before pulling back. He bounced over to Lance and, before Anna could stop him, jumped on the gunner only to leap back from a smack when Lance awoke. Anna snorted when Lance hissed at the cat and NoLegs hissed back. The gunner rolled over with a grumble and fell asleep again. The cat's ears drooped before perking as he turned and crouched down to pounce on Matt. Anna hastily snatched NoLegs out of the air, mid-leap. The cat looked up and mewed in confusion.

"Sorry, NoLegs, Matt is recovering from some serious wounds and needs rest," Anna explained. She frowned when the cat glanced around and said, "Natz is kidnapped and we're on our way to rescue her. Can I ask you to take my and Lance's canteens and find some water for them? It's dangerous for any of us to wander alone right now, and I need to stay here to watch over Matt, anyway."

NoLegs nodded and squirmed free from Anna's arms. He left the clearing with the two canteens hovering on either side of him. The ranger watched him go with a small smile before turning and settling to sit beside Matt again.

For an hour, Anna sat there softly humming. She grinned when NoLegs came back with both canteens filled. The ranger accepted the water with a smile and took a sip from hers before setting both aside. The cat settled down next to Anna and leaned against her, purring contently as she stroked his back.

**DDDDDD**

By the time Lance had woken up, the sun was setting and NoLegs had vanished. The gunner sat up with a yawn and glanced around. He frowned in concern when he realized that while he could see Matt was sitting up with a discarded orange juice carton beside him and looking up at the sky, Anna wasn't anywhere in sight. He was about to call out when a branch hit the ground across the clearing and he jerked to look up. One of his eyebrows arched when he spotted Anna and realized she had been what Matt was looking at.

The ranger was hanging upside down from a tree branch by one leg. As Lance watched, Anna let her arms hang below her and dropped from the branch. She grabbed a different branch on her way down and used her momentum to spin around the limb once before letting go to launch and land in a crouch on a branch further down and in a different tree. The ranger only stayed there for a split second before leaping to the ground. Anna rolled into standing and gave a flourishing bow while Matt clapped with a cheer. The two turned with matching grins when Lance finally spoke up.

"Points for the creative way to keep Matt entertained, but I would be really upset if you had fallen and cracked your head open," the gunner said with a smirk.

Anna rolled her eyes, "Well, we started with games, but after the fifth ' _I spy with my little eye, something brown and green_ ,' we decided to find something a little more exciting. Also, I thought we were finally past the _don't-climb-trees-you'll-fall-and-get-hurt_ thing?"

Matt grinned, "You should have seen the stuff she did earlier, Lance; it would have given you a heart-attack." He laughed and ducked away from the mock-angry swipe Anna took at him.

Lance frowned, "Don't tell me; I don't want to know what the crazy flying squirrel spirit my girlfriend was channeling this time wanted her to do. My heart is still recovering from the insane leap she made across the lava that one time in Ashwood." The gunner smirked at Anna as she gave a huff before turning to Matt.

He eyed the swordsman's alert expression and the restored color in his face. He was still a just little too pale, and there were shadows under his eyes, but other than that, Matt looked healthy. Lance nodded to himself and stepped forward.

Matt blinked in surprise at the hand Lance extended to him before grasping it to be hauled to his feet. The gunner steadied Matt as he swayed from the sudden head-rush before standing back and running a critical eye over his friend's form. He grinned and held one fist out for Matt to bump.

"Glad to have you back on your feet," Lance said sincerely. He waved the swordsman over to a large tree, "You probably already noticed that we changed your shirt for you, so go finish changing. After you're done, we'll go pick up Origin's trail."

Matt nodded with a grin and moved behind the indicated tree. He came back wearing his customary clothing and saw that Anna was missing when he returned. "Where'd Anna go?" he asked in confusion.

"Right here," Anna called as she came back into view. She had switched into her Ninja Dress. At Matt's confused look she explained, "I'm thinking we can get the drop on them, and I already know they almost always don't see me in this." She moved to fold the various blankets strewn about as well as her bedroll before handing them around to stuff away.

Lance spoke up from where he had been standing, "Since Matt seems to be doing well, let's head out and track down where those guys came from." He reached into his Adventure Pouch, withdrew Heaven's Gate, and passed it over to Matt.

Matt accepted the blade and gestured at Lance's armor, "Don't you think you should change too? You've got blood all down you're front." He paused and blinked at the stain, "Wait, is that _my_ blood?"

Anna and Lance both stared at the bloodstained fur before looking at each other and then back at Matt.

"Probably most of it, yes," Lance admitted with a weak smile.

Matt gaped at Lance as the gunner headed off. He shifted his stare to Anna and maintained it until Lance came back, wearing his Officer outfit.

"Okay, now, let's go," Lance said.

Matt shook off his shock and followed as Anna led the way back to the clearing. The bodies were still strewn about, but Anna hardly glanced at them. She moved around the edge of the clearing, hunched over with her eyes scanning the ground. Finally she stopped and straightened with a grin and waved for the others to follow; she had picked up the trail.

The ranger led them swiftly through the trees, glancing back at Matt every so often to make sure he was still doing okay. Each time, the swordsman gave her a grin and a thumbs-up there was no sign of extreme exertion on his face. The sun was beginning to set when Anna froze and raised a finger to her lips. Lance and Matt watched in confusion as she tilted her head and twisted around with her eyes closed.

Anna's eyes popped open. "I can hear voices just beyond these trees," she said in a quiet tone.

The other two stiffened and gripped their weapons. They listened, but couldn't hear anything unusual.

"How far away; will they hear us?" Lance whispered.

Anna shook her head, with an uncertain frown, "Pretty far. I can't make out what they're saying, and it almost sounds like an echo," She glanced between the two men, "Should we go check it out?"

Matt nodded, "Definitely."

Lance glanced at Matt with a small frown, "I don't want you fighting just yet, Matt; not unless you absolutely have too. We'll check it out and if Anna and I can't handle it on our own, then we fall back and attack tomorrow."

Matt opened his mouth to protest, but fell silent when Anna nodded her agreement. He heaved a sigh, "Fine, but I'm only waiting until dawn if you guys can't handle it."

"Fair enough," Lance agreed with a nod. He waved for Anna to keep walking.

The ranger led the way through the trees, following the sound of voices. Soon, the other two heard what Anna had caught before and their eyes narrowed in determination. Anna stopped and crouched low, waving for the other two to follow her lead. Together, the three creeped the last few paces and peered between the leaves of a bush to see a large cliff face.

There was only the slightest sliver of a moon rising in the sky as the sun set .The stone was painted a bloody red and soared high in the air overhead. Their attention wasn't focused on the mountain's peak, however. Instead, their eyes were set on the grey stone fortress was nestled at the base of the mountain. The voices they'd heard earlier had faded and as they watched, a large wrought iron gate slammed shut. Cloaked assassins stood at attention in various locations along the walls and on either side of the gate.

Lance, Matt, and Anna exchanged glances. They had found the base, alright. Now they needed a plan.


	11. Chapter 11

The grandmaster of Origin gave a thin smile as he watched three of his minions kneeling before him, heads bowed as they awaited his approval. None of them showed any signs of injury, but they were breathing heavily. The prize of their ambush on the heroes lay unconscious on the floor at his feet with dried blood sticking her orange bangs to her face and her hands and ankles tightly bound with rope.

He had sent twenty men to attack the heroes in the Crystal Cavern in an effort to capture the mage, and silently admitted that he was surprised the ambush had succeeded. The number of casualties didn't shock him; he had fully expected all of his minions to be killed or incapacitated in their assault. He had actually sent them there to slow the party down as he prepared an actual plan of capture. It was with no small amount of pleasure that he realized he could now save that surprise for later.

"Excellent work, you three; rest assured that I am very pleased with your success in your mission," the grandmaster said after several long moments of silence. He smiled as their postures relaxed slightly, "I am granting you each the title of High Acolyte and you will be afforded all of the spoils and trappings that come with your new title. Go now and rest, I shall see to the detainment of our guest." With that, the three men rose and bowed before leaving their master in his office with the prisoner.

The man waited until the door clicked shut behind them before he turned his full attention to the woman that lay at his feet. His eyes swept over her tangled, bloodstained hair and passed over her face. The gaze fell lower to linger on the swell of the mage's chest before continuing on down. The grandmaster lustfully admired her body before reigning himself in.

"It is unfortunate that I cannot have my complete way with you," he said to the unaware woman. "The Primordial would be most cross with me if I tainted his gift. Although, I suppose I can have fun in other ways."

Raising his voice for one of the guards posted outside his door, the grandmaster waited until his minion had appeared. He gestured at the prisoner on the floor and commanded that she be brought to the dungeons and restrained. He emphasized that as soon as she was chained, no one was to be allowed in her cell without him present and that he would check in on her later. The man bowed and hefted the woman on the floor up and over his shoulder before turning to do as he had been told. The grandmaster watched with glittering eyes as the mage's limp form bobbed on the man's shoulder until the door shut and she was cut off from his sight.

A cold voice spoke from behind the grandmaster, "Best be careful you don't go too far with your toy. Remember that she is needed pure for optimal results."

The grandmaster turned to the speaker as he seemed to materialize out of the shadows in the corner of the room. "Of course, I have been waiting and preparing for this moment for far too long to risk failure now," the robed man said. He eyed the man cloaked man with a pleased smirk, "You were spot on with your plan, by the way. I must admit I am impressed; the heroes had no idea what hit them until it was far too late."

"Of course," the cloaked man said, a small note of satisfaction coloring his voice. He shook his black hood down to reveal a pale face framed with dark brown hair. Cold red eyes matched the equally cold smirk that twisted his lips. "It was a simple matter of weighing their strengths and weaknesses. I doubt they will be able to subdue their comrade without serious injury and they won't be able to bring themselves to kill him. I am more impressed that the squad survivors returned with such impressive haste. Very well done for a group of grunts," the man said.

The grandmaster chuckled, "I am most sure that you had something to do with that as well. This has been a most valuable partnership thus far. May I finally be given a name to call you? 'General' is just so dull."

The man languidly shrugged, "My name is not important and all that matters to me is that the boy relearns his place."

"You never did tell me which boy and what they did that is so upsetting," the grandmaster mused. He closely watched the general's impassive face for a few seconds before shrugging, "Very well, General. I suppose I shall see you on the new moon."

The General saluted and silently swept from the office.

**OOOOOO**

Natalie woke to aching shoulders and wrists and the echoing of water dripping into a puddle. The sound bounced through her throbbing head and she winced before peeling her eyes open. For a brief, panic-filled moment, the mage couldn't see anything and she feared that she was blind. She blinked a few times and realized to her immense relief that she wasn't blind, the area she was in was just really dark.

As Natalie's eyes slowly adjusted to the dim lighting, her heart leapt into her throat. She was being held mostly upright against a wall by her wrists with her ankles chained to the floor in a small stone room. The only visible entrance or exit was a heavy metal door far out of reach of the chained mage. To make matters worse, none of her friends were around and her Adventure Pouch was not hanging from her waist.

" _Calm down, Natz,_ " the mage thought to herself, taking a few deep breaths, " _This isn't the first time you've been stuck without your gear._ " After a few more moments of focusing on her breathing, Natalie opened her eyes and stood up. She winced as the ache in her head intensified with the movement, but suffered through it to relieve the pain in her arms. The mage gazed at the shackles holding her arms up. Swallowing heavily, Natalie attempted to focus enough of her mana to melt the chains only to find she was unable to reach her power. Immediately, her heartrate skyrocketed again and she whimpered. She was restrained, alone, weaponless, and siphoned.

" _What happened that led to me being here?_ " Natalie wondered. Suddenly the events at the Crystal Caverns flashed into her mind. She remembered that they had retrieved Equilibrium and Matt had been swinging it around when…

" _We were ambushed,_ " Natalie recalled. They had been talking about the weapons and then a blast had happened. In the confusion, something had hit the back of her head. The mage swallowed as she realized that, given her current circumstance, it probably hadn't been a falling rock.

The sudden grating of a key in a heavy lock snapped Natalie's attention to the door of her cell. She squinted as light suddenly flooded in, blinding her. Her eyes adjusted quickly to see a man in a long black robe flanked by two armed guards standing just outside the door. The three figures stared at the captured mage with expressions of cruel amusement. The robed figure stepped inside her cell with a lantern and the door was shut behind him followed by the sound of the lock being reset. Natalie glared at the man defiantly even as she shrank back from him.

The man made a disapproving _tutting_ sound with his tongue and said, "Come now, dear girl, stop giving me that look." The look of amusement in his dark eyes strengthened as the mage instead increased her glare. The man heaved a sigh of mock-disappointment, and slowly shook his head. "And to think I came here to tell you about my plans," he said.

"I don't care what your plans are unless they involve releasing me," Natalie snapped at him. The man _tsked_ as he eyed the bound girl. The mage shivered as a different gleam lit his eyes. Natalie shrank as far back against the wall as she could when the robed man set his lantern down and stepped closer.

"I do simply _adore_ fiery women. Especially beautiful, fiery women," he murmured, reaching a hand out towards the mage's face. She flinched and squeezed her eyes shut as he slid the hand lightly across her cheek and down to her neck. The man grinned maliciously as he felt the girl swallow beneath the palm he had resting on her throat.

Natalie's heart was wildly racing with fear. She wanted to believe this was all just some horrible dream and she'd soon wake up to see Matt's sleeping face near to her own. Her breathing hitched as the hand on her throat drifted even further down, coming to rest just above the swell of her breasts. " _No, no, no…_ " the mage moaned in her mind, tears leaking out from between her closed eyelids.

"Don't. Please don't," Natalie pleaded; her attempt to sidle sideways was thwarted by the chains binding her to the wall and floor.

The man ignored her pleas and pressed against her, his nose brushing the joint of her neck and right shoulder as he inhaled her scent. "Mm, divine," he whispered, delighting in the sob that burst from the girl's throat. He chuckled and licked a trail from her shoulder to just below her ear, pausing to suck on the skin there. He pulled away to stare at the tears running down Natalie's face with a lustful smirk.

The mage shuddered as she felt the man leave a hickey on neck and prayed that he was done. Her eyes snapped open when a pair of lips pressed against her own, demanding entrance. She stared in horror at the unwanted face in front of her and kept her lips firmly shut. The man growled and bit down harshly on her lower lip, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth as soon as she opened it to yell. Natalie snarled in her throat and snapped her teeth down on the invading tongue. The mage felt a small flash of victory as she tasted blood and the man sharply pulled back, a trickle of blood running down his chin. Natalie spat the blood out of her mouth and met the glare being leveled at her with one of her own.

A split second later, and the man brought his hand across her face. Natalie's head snapped to the side. Her cry of pain was cut off with a choking sound as he closed his hand over her neck once more and squeezed. He relished in her wheezes and thrashing as she fought to remove his grip from her throat. The man raised his other hand and roughly palmed the mage's breasts through her clothes. The woman's weak and choked cries of protest and fear served only to increase his sick pleasure.

Natalie began to become lightheaded from lack of oxygen. She still fought against her assaulter, but she knew that it was in vain. Tears streamed down her face and stung the bite mark on her lip. She felt as the man leaned forward to suck on her shoulder again, leaving another dark bruise. The mage almost wished she would just pass out as he held her against the wall and continued groping her chest; not wanting to be conscious for what she knew was coming.

Oblivion began creeping over the edges of her mind when the man suddenly ceased everything he had been doing and stepped back. Chains rattled as the mage fell limp, hanging by her wrists once more, and coughing heavily. Her head hung as she shuddered and sobbed, waiting for the man to finish what he had started, and knowing that she wouldn't be able to stop him.

The man laughed at the mage he had just attacked, "Alas, as much as it pains me, I must quit now. I had merely wanted a taste. The Primordial much prefers virgin sacrifices, after all. That is why you are here. Your blood will be spilled in four nights during the new moon when the magicks of the world are at their weakest. The power held in your veins will serve as the final strike to break the chains holding our glorious god."

He sneered at Natalie, "Your friends will not find you in time. Even now they remain trapped, fighting their own in the caverns and they will never escape in time to search for my citadel to save you. My men might not have been able to remove the final piece of Greenwood before any could translate the ancient text, but your beloved swordsman will take care of that for me. I will savor any survivors' expressions of despair when I present them with your corpse." With that, he spun around, snatched up the lantern he had set on the floor, and pounded against the door to be let out.

With a loud _boom_ , Natalie was left alone to sob in the dark.

The mage hung there limply, having hardly heard the man's reasoning for her being here. For a long time, her mind replayed the assault over and over. Even if he hadn't completely violated her, she felt dirty and weak. "How am I going to look Matt in the eyes now? Or any of them?" she whimpered to herself. She imagined their looks of disgust and disappointment. She had taken down gods and demons, robots and beasts, and yet she had been defiled—even if only slightly—by one man? Natalie sobbed again.

Suddenly, a small part of her mind whispered that she was a fool for even thinking that her friends would blame her for what had transpired. Natalie frantically latched onto that reassurance before it could vanish, holding tightly to the small bit of comfort it brought. She focused on taking calming breaths, wincing as each one stung her bruised throat. Her friends would find her and they would free her. And when they did, she knew these bastards would pay.

And now that she had calmed some, she realized that the man had told her something important and had one thing very wrong. The sniffling mage smile faintly in the shadows of her cell, her friends were still alive and obviously being underestimated. Natalie didn't know what he meant by Matt turning on the other two, but she knew that they would find her. She just hoped it would be in time.

Natalie propped her feet under her, relieving the strain her shoulder and wrists were under as they supported her weight. She leaned back against the cold wall of her cell and stiffened her knees to stay there. The mage fitfully dozed, trying every little while to summon her magic, only to find that whatever was siphoning her worked constantly.

Her stomach began to growl, demanding food as her dry mouth demanded water. Natalie did her best to ignore both complaints and worked on trying to twist her arms free of the manacles. After a while, she gave up as all that happened was the skin on her wrists rubbed raw, stinging as they bled. She resigned herself to having to wait for a rescue.

**OOOOOO**

It was a long, uncomfortable, and exhausting time later when her cell door opened. Natalie's heart jumped into her throat as the robed man appeared in the door bearing a pitcher and a small cup. The mage could hear the sloshing sound of some kind of liquid in the pitcher. She eyed the man warily as he ordered his guard to set a lantern and a stool down before commanding them to leave.

As soon as the door was shut, Natalie's tormentor settled down on the stool and turned his attention to his captive with a smirk. "And how is the lovely lady today?" he asked mock-cordially. His eyes ran appreciatively over the marks that had darkened on the mage's neck and shoulders, leisurely continuing down to linger on her chest.

Natalie remained stoically silent as she glared at him, doing her best to ignore the wandering gaze.

With a sigh, the man stretched his arms over his head before leaning forward on his knees, "Are you thirsty?" He grinned maliciously as the mage's mask of angry disinterest was betrayed by a brief flash of want in her eyes. He reached down and lifted the pitcher next to him, making sure to slosh the liquid inside some. "I have water here. To get some, you merely need to answer a few simple questions for me," he offered.

A faint snort followed by a quirk of the eyebrow was Natalie's answer.

"Come, come, you don't even know what I'm asking for, yet," the man chided. With a sharp gleam in his eyes, he set the pitcher down again and leaned further forward, "I want to know what skills your friends possess."

Natalie turned her head to the side with another small snort.

With a sigh the man poured himself a small cup of water, aware of the attention his thirsty prisoner had on him, despite her feigned indifference. With exaggerated slurping and gulping, the man finished off his water. The mage remained silent.

"I'm a busy man, so I would like an answer sooner rather than later. We can do this the easy way where you tell me what I want and I give you some water, or the hard way where you remain silent and I get creative," he said and grinned as Natalie shivered, catching his meaning. "Honestly, either way will work for me. And our meeting last night was merely a taste of what I can do to you." A brief flash of triumph flared as the mage swallowed dryly before her mouth cracked open.

"They're really good at kicking asses like yours," Natalie said in a hoarse voice and smirked.

The man's triumph dissolved into fury and he stood up, knocking over the remaining water he had brought with him. Fear glimmered in the mage's eyes as he approached, but she kept the mocking smirk on her face. He stalked right up to Natalie punched her in the gut. The mage lurched forward as far as her bound arms allowed, coughing and groaning. The barely scabbed skin on her wrists broke open and blood trailed down her arms. Still, when she regained the strength to stand upright, the smirk persisted on her face. The man snarled and grasped the neckline of Natalie's dress, tugging on it violently. There was a tearing sound as he pushed the fabric far enough down to slip a hand inside over her left breast.

Natalie cried out and twisted her body sideways, trying to escape the groping hand that roughly fondled her breast. The man had a crazed smile on his face as he watched the mage's panic skyrocket from his treatment. Abruptly, he stopped the squeezing and slowly slid his hand out, fingers brushing over her nipple. Natalie shuddered with disgust and fear as he leaned in to whisper in her ear, lips close enough to brush the shell, "I can do far worse while maintaining your purity, so I suggest you not mock me, girl." He pulled away and banged on the door to be let out.

Shivering, Natalie focused on the 'conversation' she'd just had with her captor and avoided thinking about the assault, " _It's been one day so three more before they perform their ritual. He needs information on the other three's skills, but why?_ " The mage pondered that for a moment before realizing that the other three must have escaped, possibly even undetected. A flare of hope rose within her and she prayed the others would arrive quickly.

Hours passed and Natalie was fitfully dozing in an attempt to ignore her dehydration. She hadn't had anything to drink for almost three days now and she knew she needed water soon. The mage doubted they would let her die of thirst before the sacrifice, but she almost wished they would. On top of her thirst, she couldn't sleep restfully because anytime she fell asleep, she lost her balance and the chains yanking on her wounded wrists woke her again with a flash of pain. The door opened again and the man walked through, this time followed by two guards, one of which was carrying another pitcher of water. Natalie didn't even bother to look up at their presence. Too much energy was required to raise her head, although her heart jumped with fear.

The robed man stopped in front of his prisoner whose head hung low with her exhaustion. He jerked his head at the guards behind him and watched as one man stepped forward to tilt the mage's head back. The second guard pried her Natalie's mouth open and held her tongue out of the way as they poured water into her mouth. Natalie choked and spluttered on the sudden rush of liquid down her throat and over the sides of her mouth. Her throat relished the sensation of water, swallowing greedily, and a cry forced its way out as the flow ended too soon.

With a small clap, the two guards were dismissed. Natalie watched after them desperately, craving more of the water they took with them. One of the guards glanced back at the cry with a look of pity in his eyes, but didn't stop. The door shut behind them, leaving Natalie alone with the robed man once more.

Natalie's eyes were dull with exhaustion and despair as she stared at the man in front of her. The man stared back with a face that betrayed nothing, but amusement at her suffering. Finally, he leaned in and nibbled on her collarbone, ignoring her raspy cry of protest. He felt her shiver as his breath ghosted over her skin. "Two nights until the new moon; cherish your final days of life," he whispered in her ear. With that, he swept around and left the cell.

Natalie gave a dry, rasping sob as she hung there in the dark. " _The others won't make it in time,_ " she thought in despair.

The door reopened and she fully expected to see the robed man returning to taunt and abuse her. Instead, she blinked with dull surprise to see the guard who had given her the pitying look. And he was alone. In his hand he held a small canteen. The man threw a furtive look over his shoulder, before pushing his hood down to reveal short, light brown hair, tanned skin, and gray eyes. He approached the bound girl slowly.

Once next to her, he swiftly uncapped the container and held it gently to Natalie's lips. The mage was unwilling to question the sudden kindness as she tilted her head back to drink. She gave a small whine when he pulled the water away from her greedy guzzling.

"Slower, or you'll make yourself sick," the man whispered to her. He brought the canteen back to her mouth when she nodded, holding it there as she sipped until the water was gone.

Natalie licked the remaining drops of the precious liquid from her dry lips as she stared at the guard. "Why are you helping me?" she asked hoarsely.

The man threw another nervous glance over his shoulder before turning back to the prisoner. "Not everyone here believes the grandmaster's insane ideal. His treatment of you and others is disgusting. You aren't the first he's done this to and I wish I could free you, but we'd never make it down the first hall," he whispered. "Don't give up, no matter what. I know for a fact that your friends are on the way. I can't give you details, but they should be here tomorrow, I promise. Just stay strong, and when you get out, head for the village at the base of the mountain range; someone will have a gift for your group."

Before Natalie could question him further, the man twisted around and headed for the door, pausing only briefly when Natalie whispered a soft thank you. He glanced back and gave her a sad smile before stepping out of the cell. The door shut behind him followed by the clicking of the lock, leaving the exhausted mage hanging in the dark with a renewed flame of hope burning in her chest.

She dozed some more throughout the next day. The door opened to allow the robed man to enter once more. Natalie feigned the same exhaustion she had displayed yesterday—which wasn't hard—as she did not want to get the kind guard who had helped her in trouble. She hoped that her captor was just here to torment her with words.

That hope was dashed as he said nothing, but reached out immediately to run his hands over her body. Natalie shivered in disgust and fear at the touch as it ghosted over her breasts, fingers dipping lightly into the valley between them before sliding out. He slid his hands down to grasp the struggling mage's hips, pulling her closer to press against him. She felt the bulge of his arousal pressing against her thigh.

Natalie's fear spiked as he slid his tongue over her cheek and she smelt the alcohol on his breath. Tears prickled in her eyes when she heard him groan as he ground against her. He sucked the skin on her neck into his mouth and harshly bit down before pulling away to run his tongue over the bruise he left there. He pressed the crying mage against the wall and continued grinding against her as he removed his hands from her waist. One rose to grope her chest while the other slid down to trace up the skin of her inner thigh, pushing the hem of her dress up.

Natalie's already rapid heart rate sped up. She let out a keening cry as the hand on her leg slid higher and higher until it stopped—halted by a pounding on the door. With a slurring curse, the man pulled away from his victim to stagger to the door. A few angry words were exchanged and the door slammed shut to leave the mage alone, crying in the dark.

"No more… No more…" Natalie whimpered to herself, her body shuddering and trembling as she cried.


	12. Chapter 12

The three peered up at the fortress from the forest's edge. Somewhere inside there, Natalie was being held captive. Or so they hoped, anyway. There was a very high possibility that the mage had already been moved, or killed, or maybe she had never been there at all, but none of them voiced those concerns. Their eyes swept the facade of the imposing structure, searching for a way to get inside undetected. The only viable entrances were the main gate and a series of arched windows set high in the walls. Sentries stood on either side of the gate and more patrolled the retaining wall, pausing at regular intervals to stare out across the forest.

"I don't think there's any way for us to get in there without them coming down on our heads in droves," Lance whispered. He shaded his eyes from the setting sun's glare with one hand to peer at the windows, "I doubt we can get up to and through those windows undetected." His voice lightened slightly, "On the plus side, I can faintly sense Natz's mana from here; she's definitely in there somewhere."

Matt glared at the building, "Then we smash the front gate in. Natalie is in there and they won't stop me from saving her."

"I can get in through those windows, unseen," Anna suggested quietly. "If I wait until nightfall, they'll never see me in my Ninja Dress."

"No. N-O. Absolutely not. You are _not_ going in there alone. Matt was nearly killed by these guys, and you are nowhere near as skilled as he is in close combat," Lance snapped, twisting his head to glare at the ranger.

Matt nodded his head in agreement, "Lance is right, Anna. Just remember what happened to me. Besides, even if you made it in unnoticed, what would happen if they caught you inside?" He shook his head, "They don't need you. They'll just kill you, and we'd be stuck out here while they do it."

"And if we charge the front gate, they'll either use Natalie as a shield or move her to another location entirely! They could probably just lock the thing and, then where would we be? Besides, Matt is still recovering and I doubt one night will make enough of a difference to his health for a three-man assault on a fort," Anna hissed furiously. "I spent three months evading these bastards and I know their skills. I'm trained to move quietly, and my clothing and weapons choice are ideal for stealth."

The ranger saw that Lance was unconvinced, but Matt was wavering. She pushed a little harder, "Please? We don't know what they're doing to her in there, or what they might have already done. What we _do_ know is that she's being held prisoner by a group of insane assassin cultists! Just give me until sunrise; I'll be back by then."

Matt hesitated and glanced sideways at Lance, "She has a good argument."

The gunner's face crumpled, "But what if something goes wrong? I thought I had already lost you once to these guys, I don't think I can handle it a second time—I didn't even handle it the first time."

Anna's insistent glare softened, and she leaned over to press a kiss to Lance's cheek. Pulling back the ranger whispered, "I'll be fine, I promise. Natalie needs our help and I really think this is the best and fastest way."

Lance shut his eyes and drew a deep, shaky breath. His face hardened with resolve and his eyes opened again, "You're right: she does need help and the sooner the better. I'll give you until sunrise, but no later. If you aren't back by then, then we're coming in after you. Your primary goal is to find Natalie; don't engage anyone unless you have too. If you find her, see if you can get her out. Give her your old cloak to help her hide. If you can't free her, then come back and tell us what you found."

Anna nodded her head firmly, eyes glowing with determination.

Lance pulled the ranger into a tight hug and sealed his mouth over hers, pulling back a few seconds later. "Good luck and don't die. I'll never forgive myself if I let you go in there alone and you get killed," he whispered desperately, his lips brushing Anna's own.

"I'll be careful and silent. Their first clue that anyone was there will be when they can't find Natz, I promise," the ranger said reassuringly, straightening her shoulders. Their debate had taken long enough for the sun to finish setting.

Matt reached over and gave Anna a quick, but tight hug, "Thank you so much for this. Good luck, be safe."

Anna nodded with a confident grin. With that, she switched her Sky Feather out for the Black Widow and tucked her crystal necklace into her Adventure Pouch. As she slipped out of the cover of the trees, she whispered a near-silent ' _see you later.'_

Matt and Lance watched her go, hearts pounding. Even with their eyes focused on the ranger, she seemed to just vanish three seconds out. They didn't see her once as she crossed the open space to the fortress. They didn't see her as she scaled the wall, using the loose and cracked stones of the wall as her climbing tools. Their next—and last—glimpse was a flicker of a silhouette in a window, and then she was gone.

Matt and Lance breathed sighs of relief. None of the sentries had even paused in their patrol routes. The pair tensely settled back to wait for Anna's return or the sunrise.

**DDDDDD**

Anna was swift and silent as she ghosted down the long stone hallways of the fortress' interior. Getting inside undetected had been almost laughably easy, and they were so assured of their guard outside that there were practically no patrols in the halls. To make things even easier, the torches used for light were set far apart, creating many shadows for the ranger to hide in.

" _It's been easy, so far. Now I just need to figure out where Natalie is,_ " Anna thought as she peered carefully around yet another corner before slipping down the next corridor. " _I wonder how I'll find her before Lance declares nuclear war on these bastards?_ " the ranger wondered. It wasn't like they'd post signs saying, 'This way to the mage prisoner', after all.

Suddenly, Anna froze as she heard voices echoing from up ahead, down the hall. She looked around frantically for a place to hide from the oncoming assassins. The footsteps and voices were getting closer and Anna dove for the shadows behind an ugly statue set at the corner of two halls. She crouched there, peering between the feet of the sculpture as a group of the assassins came into view. They were laughing and shoving each other into the walls as they walked and their voices were clearly audible now.

"That was some good grub," one man groaned, rubbing his stomach. The rest chorused their agreement. Anna gulped silently and her heart started pounding as the group paused right next to her hiding place.

With a heavy sigh a different man spoke up, "Well, I guess I'll have to part here."

"Ah, that's right. You're in charge of watching the bitch downstairs for the next shift," a third man said. Anna's eye's widened at the mention of a prisoner. "Too bad only the grandmaster is allowed in her cell. I can think of several things I'd like to do with her." The group laughed and a few suggested just what they'd do with their prisoner, if they were allowed. The ranger hidden nearby shivered at the lust coloring their voices.

Finally, a few good-nights were exchanged and the one assassin spilt off to slowly trudge in a different direction. Anna stood as soon as it was clear and followed him. From their lewd descriptions of the prisoner, she was positive that they had been talking about Natalie. Now the ranger just had to follow this one guard and he would unwittingly lead her right to her captured friend. Hopefully, the mage was alright. As she followed the man, Anna bit her thumb and discreetly smudged small smears of blood on the walls at any intersection to mark which turns to take on the way back out.

The man headed down a dark staircase, and the woman shadowing him waited until he was all the way down before following. She peeked around the corner to find a dungeon. All of the cells were open save for one at the end. The guard she had tailed was talking with the one standing outside the door so Anna stole closer, ducking from shadow to shadow between the torches and slid into an open cell to listen to the pair and wait.

"I'm here to relieve you," the man she had followed stated. "Is the master in there now?"

"Yes, but he should be out soon. Just between us, he's had a little too much wine; if he isn't out in a few minutes, pound on the door to remind him of the ritual," a second voice replied.

The first guard grunted, "Will do. Too bad he's the only on allowed to touch such a perfect body."

Anna's heart stopped and ice filled her veins. She prayed that the two men didn't mean what she thought they meant. " _If these sons of bitches raped Natalie, then screw the promise I made to Lance—I'll slaughter every last one of them,_ " the ranger mentally snarled.

There was rustling sound before the first assassin spoke up again, "Well, at least he can't fuck her either; she needs to be pure for the ritual tomorrow night. That doesn't stop other forms of fun, though."

The second guard let out a noncommittal grunt and footsteps were heard as he walked out of the dungeon.

Relief swept over the ranger listening nearby and a few tears prickled in her eyes. They hadn't raped her friend; although it sounded like their 'master' had been abusing her. Firmly leashing the rage that swelled within her, Anna resolved to wait until Natalie and was safe and outside before seeking retribution. Besides, Matt and Lance would undoubtedly want a piece of these bastards, too.

There was a sudden banging followed by the loud screeching of metal on stone, shattering the silence of the dungeons. Anna listened as a new set of footsteps—some kind of cloth shoes, by the muffled sound of them—pattered unevenly out of the cell before the door was slammed shut again. A clicking sound echoed as the door was locked followed by a rattling as the key was handed over. A few brief and angry words were exchanged and Anna held herself firmly in check as a black-robed man weaved past her hiding place with a drunken scowl on his face. " _Natalie to safety first; slaughter bastards second,_ " the ranger reminded herself again.

Anna waited until she was positive the robed man was gone before making her move. Carefully peering around the corner, she eyed the lone guard's position from the cell she was hiding in. The man looked lazy, obviously not expecting any trouble. Anna gave a vicious smile as she slid clear of the cell she was hiding in, brought her Black Widow bow around, and drew back one arrow. There was a smack, a choked gasp, and a thump as her arrow pierced the guard's throat and he slumped to the ground, dead. The ranger dashed over to him and located the large key in his pocket. Anna could hear the muffled sounds of Natalie sobbing from the other side of the door. Heart pounding, she fit the key into the lock of the door and shoved the barrier open.

The ranger blinked to adjust to the blackness and her eyes immediately filled with tears as she saw her friend hanging limply from a set of shackles against the wall. The mage's head was down and her body shook with her sobs. Anna's heart broke as Natalie's head snapped up upon hearing the door open, only to shut her eyes again with a full-body shudder when she couldn't tell who was there.

"Please don't. Not again," the mage cried. The chains rattled as she uselessly tugged on them, trying to get free.

Blood ran from where Natalie's skin had broken from her previous attempts to get free. Her dress was rumpled and torn, and tears dripped from her chin as she struggled. Anna nearly sobbed at the sight as she dashed forwards.

Natalie let out a small cry as who she thought was her captor ran forward. "S-stop, please," she choked out, only to freeze as she felt a pair of arms wrap lightly around her waist and a familiar voice whispered reassuringly in her ear. The mage started crying again for a whole different reason as she realized Anna was the one clinging to her.

"It's going to be alright, Natz; I promise," the ranger murmured, "Let me get you out of these chains and together we'll escape to where Matt and Lance are waiting outside, okay?"

Anna let go of the crying mage in time to see her nod. Swiftly, the ranger unlocked the manacles holding Natalie and caught her in a tight hug when she collapsed. The mage clung to her friend tightly, pressing her damp face into the ranger's shoulder. Natalie's body heavily shook in the embrace and Anna hugged her tighter, tears of her own building in her eyes.

Wishing she could take a few moments to let her friend calm down, Anna instead pulled back from embrace and hauled the mage to her feet. "We need to move quickly and silently. We only have a couple of hours until the sun comes up and Matt and Lance storm the place, and Matt is not up for that right now. I'm going to give you my old cloak to make you harder to see. I want you to follow my lead and stay directly behind me at all times, got it?" Anna explained rapidly.

Natalie wiped her face with a trembling arm and nodded. She took the cloak Anna held out to her and wrapped it around her form, pulling the hood over her head. The next few minutes were spent getting her legs and arms moving properly from having been held still for the past few days. The mage finally gave a nod to let the ranger know she was ready and the pair slipped out of the cell and headed up the stairs. Natalie watched Anna closely as she paused at every corner to check for enemies, wondering how her friend knew which way to go. At one point, the ranger shoved Natalie into a nearby room that turned out to be filled with supplies, and held a finger to her lips. They stood there, bodies tense, listening as a pair of feet walked past and turned down a different hall.

Anna peered around the door before shutting it again and turning to Natalie, "We're almost out. To get to safety, we need to scale down the wall from a window. Are you a good climber?" Her heart fell as Natalie shook her head. " _Now what?_ " the ranger wondered, glancing around the room. She needed to figure it out fast; the sky outside was starting to lighten. They only had a short time before Lance and Matt began their assault. Her eyes fell on coils of rope hooked to the wall and she grinned, dashing over to snatch one up.

Motioning for Natalie to follow, Anna checked outside the door once more before leading her friend out it. A few minutes later and they stood before the window Anna had come in from. To the ranger's immense relief, the guards patrolling outside hadn't changed shifts yet. Some leaned against the walls, obviously dozing. Others were frequently yawning as they walked their routes. Anna turned to Natalie, who silently stood right behind her, and tied the rope around her friend's waist.

As the ranger worked, she explained what she planned and what she needed Natalie to do, "I'm going to lower you down. Don't make a single peep and try not to scrape against the walls. Once your feet touch the ground, duck close to the wall and stay _completely still_. Eyes are drawn to movement so your chances of not being spotted go way up if you stay still. The guards outside are asleep, or almost there, so they should be easy to dodge. Matt and Lance are waiting in the trees past the open space."

She paused until Natalie nodded to show she understood, "Once I join you, we'll head for the trees. If we're spotted before we make it, then start running like hell for the tree-line. I can provide cover with my bow, and I'm sure Matt and Lance will help, but you need to _run_. If all goes well, they won't even know you're gone until they change shift at the cell. You'll be fine, so long as you don't panic." She tested the knot a few times and gave Natalie one last hug before the mage climbed into the window. Anna began lowering her down, arms straining as she tried to let the rope out slowly.

Natalie dangled in the air, one hand on the rope to keep her upright and the other repeatedly pressed against the wall to keep her from scraping against it. Her heart was in her throat as her friend carefully and smoothly let her down. As soon as the mage's feet brushed the ground she slipped closer to the wall and stood there frozen and silent, as Anna had instructed her. The rope silently coiled beside her as the ranger clambered down the wall.

Anna landed next to her with a near-silent tap and waited for the nearest guard to turn away before slicing through the rope tied to Natalie's waist with her dagger. She gathered up the rope and motioned for the mage to follow. Side by side, hunched over and silent, the pair slipped across the open space in the pale grey pre-dawn light. Not one guard raised the alarm as they disappeared into the shadows of the trees.

The two women ran further into the forest until they broke into a clearing and Anna finally stopped. The pair panted for a few seconds before the ranger tensed and whipped around, her bow in hand with an arrow drawn back and pointed at the noise that came from behind her. A spilt second later, she relaxed and lowered the weapon, recognizing Matt and Lance. The men stared at them with relief.

Anna gave them an equally relieved grin, "Hey guys, I'm back and look who I found." Matt and Lance surged forward to tackle the women. Anna laughed as Lance shook her once before pulling her into a heated kiss.

Matt grabbed Natalie around the waist and spun her around a few times before kissing her. The hood covering the mage's head flew back to reveal she was ecstatically smiling even as tears coursed down her face. Natalie collapsed against Matt, hugging him fiercely. She pulled back to stare at her boyfriend, laughing with relief. The swordsman stared back, tears of joy in his eyes. Suddenly, the bright light of relief faded from his eyes as he reached out and brushed a hand against her neck, pushing her tangled orange hair out of the way.

Natalie froze as his eyes darkened at the sight of hand prints bruising her throat and the hickeys and bite marks dotting her shoulders and neck. She swallowed heavily, willing him to say something. When Matt remained quiet, numbly staring at the bruises, Natalie jerked away and backed against a tree. "I-I'm sorry… I didn't w-want—D-didn't mean to..." the mage stuttered, heavily shaking.

"Natalie..." Matt murmured, staring at her as she backed away fearfully. His eyes were fixed on the dark bruises on her neck before he tore his gaze away to look back into Natalie's eyes. His fists clenched as she refused to look at him, choosing instead to sink to the ground against the tree, shuddering and curling into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest. The cloak she wore pulled back to reveal bloody rings on each wrist with dried and cracked trails of blood running from each mark on her arms. " _They didn't…_ " Matt thought with a flash of horror and rage.

Lance turned to see what was wrong. Spotting the bruises and blood on Natalie, he swore heavily and stared at her in horror. "Oh, Godcat, please tell me they didn't…" The gunner trailed off, looking like he was about to be sick.

"They didn't take her," Anna assured them quietly when the mage only started breathing rapidly with panic, "I heard a group of them talking about how she needed to be pure for some kind of ritual."

Matt felt a rush of relief at the news, and he stepped closer to where Natalie was curled on the ground. He froze when she squeaked at his approach and her already rapid breathing picking up even more. Even if they hadn't taken her by force, they had obviously abused her. Natalie started wheezing and any trepidation Matt had about getting closer vanished as he sprang to her side. "Natz, you need to breath," the swordsman begged, thankful when she didn't pull away from him that time or from the hand he gently rubbed against her back.

The mage couldn't stop hyperventilating. Distantly, she heard Matt telling her to calm down. Anna's voice buzzed into her ears next, begging her to hold her breath for a few seconds. Her chest hurt and she felt dizzy for lack of air. " _Hold my breath?_ " Natalie thought wildly, _"Why would I do that when I need air?_ " Lance snapped something, but she couldn't hear what over the pounding of blood and roaring of panic in her ears. She kept wheezing when suddenly, a pair of hands pulled her up and a palm cupped over her mouth and nose.

Matt seized Lance's barked command to cut Natalie's air off for her for a few seconds; lunging forwards as Natalie's face reddened and her lips turned blue. There was an immediate response as the mage wildly thrashed and a muffled scream rose in her throat. Matt wrapped his free arm around her and soothingly rubbed her back. Slowly, so slowly, he felt the woman relax and he pulled back to find her staring at him with slightly dazed eyes. He awkwardly shuffled away in case she panicked again—though the thought of his presence terrifying her cut him deeply.

Matt quietly asked, "Are you okay now?"

He let out a grunt when Natalie flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso and burying her face in his chest as she began sobbing. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her; giving her plenty of time to break away. The swordsman heaved a breath of relief when she didn't flinch and he pulled her tightly against him.

"It's over. You're okay, now," Matt murmured into her hair.

Lance and Anna released twin sighs of relief as Natalie finally began to calm down. The ranger motioned to her boyfriend and whispered that they should give the couple a little privacy. Lance nodded and tapped Matt's shoulder. When the swordsman glanced up, he waved at the trees across the clearing to let him know where they were going. The pair silently slipped behind the trees, staying near enough to help if there was trouble, but far enough to not be able to hear what was going on in the clearing.

**DDDDDD**

Natalie had seen the flash of pain in Matt's eyes while he shifted away from her even though he tried to hide it. Her already stressed and damaged heart broke a little more, and she felt a sudden need to reassure Matt that she was not scared of him. The easiest way was to move to him, so she did. She clung tighter when Matt hesitantly returned her hug. Natalie felt something that had been tightly coiled in her chest unwind as he crushed her to him, hushing her softly.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered against his chest.

Matt's frown of confusion went unseen by the girl in his arms. "For what?" he asked, pulling the mage back slightly. Natalie wouldn't meet his eyes and she ducked back against his chest. "For the hyperventilating thing?" he tried, "I think that was a reasonable reaction." He frowned further when she shook her head and mumbled something unintelligible into his shirt, "What was that?"

The mage pulled away slightly to whisper, "I said I'm sorry for letting this happen to me." She felt Matt give a jolt of surprise before he pulled her away to stare at her. Natalie avoided his incredulous, searching eyes.

"What happened to you was not your fault, okay?" Matt said seriously. He waited to see if Natalie would reply and went on when she shook her head, "I'm serious, Natz. I know for a fact that you didn't waltz in there and fling yourself on some man, begging him to have his way with you. You were kidnapped, detained, and forcibly touched against your will."

"I know all that, but I still should have been able to stop him," Natalie said in a small voice.

Matt shook his head sharply and leaned down to press soothing kisses to her forehead and cheeks. The mage relaxed further under his ministrations. She twisted around in the swordsman's hold to lean her back against his chest and Matt looped his arms around her waist to secure her in his lap. They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Natalie started talking. Her sentences tripped over each other as everything that had happened to her spilled out. "I woke chained to a wall in small cell three days ago. They had something nearby keeping me siphoned so I couldn't use any magic. I couldn't stop h-him when he came to t-touch me. The-the first time I saw him, he left a hickey on my neck. Then he kissed me so I bit him," she smiled weakly at Matt's murmured ' _good_ ' before slipping back into a frown.

She continued on in a whisper, "He… didn't like that, obviously. He started choking me and groping my chest and-and he wouldn't stop. I was so sure he was going to-" She broke off with a swallow and a shudder, relishing in Matt's reassuring grasp around her waist and the one hand that began rubbing a soothing circle on her stomach. She went on in a small voice, "He didn't, though. Like Anna said, they never did… that to me. He said that the Primordial prefers virgin sacrifices He said you three would never find me before the new moon." Her voice fell even further and took on a haunted tone, "He came back every day. He'd grope me, lick me, bite me, taunt me and I began to hope I'd just die. I knew you guys were searching for me, but it was so horrible. I gave up for a little while two nights before Anna freed me. A guard came into the cell alone and gave me some water. He told me that you three were coming—begged me not to give up. He was the only one who showed any kind of concern for me the entire time I was there."

Matt was pleased to hear that there had been someone there who cared that their leader was abusing a helpless young woman; although he wondered how the man had known that they were coming. He shoved the thought from his mind with a mental note to ask about it later, and turned his full attention back to Natalie for the rest of her story.

"It was my last night there when the man came in again. He was drunk. I think, if the guard—not the nice one—outside hadn't stopped him, he would have-would have t-taken me." She released a shuddering breath as she admitted, "I was apologizing because I-I thought that you would be disgusted by the fact that I had let someone else touch me in those ways. I know logically that you'd never think that, but..."

The swordsman listened to Natalie's confession, holding her tightly. He felt a wave of rage, sorrow, and regret rise within him. Rage against the bastard who had done those things to Natalie. Sorrow that she feared he'd reject her because of the unwanted actions of another. Regret that he hadn't protected her from what she had gone through and had been the factor that prevented an earlier rescue.

Matt gently pulled one hand from the mage's waist to turn her sideways and kissed her heatedly, trying to reassure her without words that he still loved her, still wanted her, and did not blame her in the slightest for what had happened. She collapsed against him and quietly moaned into his mouth.

The need for air forced Matt to reluctantly pull away. He watched as her eyes fluttered open from when they had shut at the start of the kiss. Staring at her haggard face intently, Matt murmured firmly, "I love you, Natalie."

For a few seconds Natalie simply stared at him before the few shadows lingering in her eyes finally dissipated and she beamed. "I love you, too. So, so much," Natalie replied fervently.

The mage stood up and turned to wait for Matt to stand as well. Grabbing the swordsman's hand, Natalie tugged him over to where she could see Anna and Lance waiting nearby. The pair glanced at her and Matt, grinning with relief at the smile across Natalie's face. Lance shot a quick glance at Matt and mouthed a silent question while Natalie hugged Anna, asking if she was faking being mostly okay. The gunner gave a faint nod when Matt shook his head ever so slightly. He made a note to tell Matt to keep an eye on Natalie's mental health, anyway.

"Thank you for freeing me, Anna. I know it was a huge risk and that you had practically no time to plan your infiltration," Natalie said as she embraced the ranger.

She accepted the teary hug Anna gave her in return before turning to the gunner, "Thank you for letting her go in to rescue me, Lance. I'm sure you would have much preferred to have Anna safe with you than alone in the middle of a base of assassins." Lance gave her an awkward half-smile and a one-armed hug.

Turning as one and standing shoulder to shoulder, the four faced the direction of the fortress beyond the trees. Matt held tightly to Natalie's hand as he felt her shiver once, before leading the way in the opposite direction. They had two more weapons to find before they could challenge the Primordial.


	13. Chapter 13

Anna called a halt after a few hours of walking, causing the others to look at her in confusion. "We're definitely far enough away to not be heard, and I've been covering our trail. I want to heal Natalie's injuries," the ranger told them. She glanced at the mage and added, "After that, we need to find somewhere to sleep. I'm exhausted and I'm sure Natz is, too. Tomorrow, we'll need to head to a town and get her some new gear."

Matt and Lance nodded as Natalie stepped forwards. Anna pulled out her flute and played a few rounds of Renew. The first one healed the wounds on Natalie's wrists, leaving behind smooth skin. The second took care of the cut on her head that had knocked her out. The third healed the bruises and bite marks marring her neck and shoulders.

The ranger stopped playing and looked Natalie over. "Did I get everything?" she asked the mage. Anna frowned when Natalie hesitated before nodding. "Don't lie, what still hurts?" she demanded.

"It's fine. Besides, you're tired," Natalie replied quickly, eyeing the slight sheen of sweat on Anna's face. She winced when the ranger cocked one eyebrow and tapped her foot impatiently.

Matt spoke up next, "Natz, don't hide your wounds. You hate it when we do that to you and Anna hates it when you do it her."

Finally, the mage sighed, "I have a bruise just below my ribs from where he punched me. He didn't like the response I gave him when he wanted info on you guys."

Anna grinned, "I hope you told him we'd beat the crap out of him." Natalie nodded with a small smile. "Good. Okay, gimme a sec," the ranger said, raising her flute once more.

Natalie sighed as the final round of Renew washed over her, healing the bruise below her ribs. She looked up when the magic song ended and frowned guiltily when she noted that Anna was pale. "Thanks, Anna. Are you going to be okay until we camp?" Natalie asked. She watched as Lance stepped closer to the ranger, just in case.

Anna waved a hand lightly, "I'll be fine. Using that magic is way easier surrounded by nature."

Lance blinked, "Really? I didn't know that." He wrapped an arm around the ranger's shoulders and started leading the party onwards.

"Yeah, it works by pulling extra mana from the surrounding plants to heal. I can still use it in buildings and that factory, but then the drain comes from my own mana, so I can't use it as frequently," Anna explained. She glanced over at Natalie, "I don't suppose you could teach me how to use Heal, could you?"

The mage shrugged, "You already know the basics of healing magic, so I could probably manage to teach you Heal pretty easily. Is there any particular reason why you want to learn different healing spell?"

The ranger grinned sheepishly, "My healing magic takes some time to actually get going, that's why. Heal is more effective and often times more efficient than Refresh and Renew. Plus, it's silent; it would be helpful to have a quiet way to deal with minor wounds. I'd probably mostly use my usual healing magic still, but having a guaranteed backup would be nice."

"Sure, we'll need to figure out something for you to channel your mana through, but it shouldn't be too hard," Natalie said.

Anna grinned, "Sweet! Thanks, Natz!"

Lance glanced at Anna with a raised brow, but kept silent when she shook her head slightly. The gunner frowned but nodded; Natalie could wait before learning how close Matt had come to dying while she had been captured. Besides, Anna was right: having a second Heal user would be incredibly helpful.

The party walked for another half hour before they broke out of the trees. After a small climb up a slope, they found themselves standing on a grassy hill overlooking a small plain. The grassland led right up to a small village right at the base of a mountain range. The dark and jagged peaks soared high above their heads, even at their distance, and stood out in sharp contrast against the blue sky.

Lance glanced around and nodded. "Let's rest here for the day," he suggested. "I'm going to guess that's the mountain range we're looking for. The temple is in there somewhere; we can start hiking after we get some supplies tomorrow." He turned to Anna, "Set some wards out, but I think we should keep a watch as well, just in case."

The ranger nodded and moved place wards around the crest of the hill.

"Matt, you and I are going to go find some firewood and food," Lance went on. He turned to Natalie, "Natz, if you could start making a fire pit before you rest, that would be awesome."

The mage gave a short nod before moving to pull grass up, clearing a large circle. The two men headed back into the forest when Anna came back from setting the wards and sat down. The ranger dug into her Adventure Pouch and pulled out her canteen. She drank a few sips and passed the rest over to Natalie.

"Here, you can have the rest," she offered, but the mage hesitated. "I can share with Lance, but you need the fluids," Anna insisted. She smiled as Natalie gave a small huff, but accepted the canteen.

The two women sat in silence for a little while before Anna stood up again. The ranger walked around the top of the hill and scanned across the surrounding grassland and the forest, despite her exhaustion.

Natalie spoke up quietly, "Do you think they'll come after us?"

Anna glanced back, "They can try. It'll take them a while find us if they do, though—I covered our trail since leaving that clearing." She shrugged, "I doubt they'll come after us just yet, anyway. Their ritual was supposed to be tonight, right? They can't get you and get back in time for it. For one thing, it's a long walk and they won't know exactly which way to go." The ranger's voice became chilly as she turned back to the watch, "For another, they'll have to deal with all of us if they want you. They caught us by surprise in the Crystal Caverns, but right now, we're alert and ready for them."

"You're right," Natalie said with a sigh, "Thanks, Anna."

"No problem," the ranger grinned. She hesitated before continuing, "I don't completely know what you went through or what it would be like, but I'm here if you want or need to talk, okay? We all are."

"I know you are and I'll keep the offer in mind," the mage assured her. She went on in a quiet voice, "I… want to talk to you and Lance a little tonight. The-the man said somethings that I think everyone in our group needs to know."

Anna glanced back with a soft look, "Okay, but don't force yourself alright?" She snapped around at the sound of footstep but relaxed upon seeing Matt and Lance. The ranger smiled and announced, "They're back and they didn't bring magic mushrooms!"

Natalie laughed and stood up to stand next to Anna. She smiled as she saw Matt carrying the fire wood, while Lance held a Blackbird, "Good, I want something a little healthier than shrooms."

The ranger grinned and nodded in agreement, "I'm glad they found something. We didn't see any monsters on our way to rescue you, so I was a little worried."

The two men grinned as they reached the camp. Matt set to work arranging the firewood while Lance prepared the meat for cooking. Soon the smell of roasting bird filled the air along with the crackling of the fire. Anna and Natalie sat next to each other off to one side. The mage was explaining how Heal worked in detail as the ranger listened intently, nodding once in a while.

"Okay, I think I get it; it isn't much different from using music. I just need to concentrate a little more to direct the mana," Anna said.

Natalie nodded with a smile, "Yup, now we just need to decide what to use for your focus point. It can be just about anything, really, as long as it can handle mana being channeled through it. A healing-specific item would be better so you don't confuse healing with an attack."

The ranger frowned thoughtfully, "What should I use? I already have a bow and a dagger. I don't really want to be carrying a staff around, too."

Lance spoke up from where he was keeping an eye on their food, "What about that necklace you made out of the crystal you got from Shawn? It can easily channel mana."

Natalie and Anna stared at Lance and then at each other.

"It's a good idea," Natalie thoughtfully mused, "You already have it, it's small, and it can channel the mana needed."

Anna frowned, "Isn't there a possibility of the thing blowing up, though? Besides, it heats up if you push mana into it."

"Not really," the mage assured her. She explained further when Anna remained looking skeptical, "If you smashed it while using it as a light source then it might explode, but using it to channel should be fine. And it won't heat up too much because the mana will flow through the crystal to heal whatever wound you're focusing on; not be stored."

"You can give it a try after we eat," Lance said. He cut a small slice into the roasting Black Bird to check it, "Yup, food is done now."

Matt jumped up from where he had been keeping watch. "Finally! I'm starving," he said with a grin. The swordsman stepped forward and began cutting the meat up into portions.

Soon, all four were scarfing down the food. Matt sat back with a content groan, and flicked his skewer into the fire, "That was tasty." He frowned at the stick smoldering in the fire, "I've never thought of this before, but how come we never use plates? It's not like we have to worry about fitting them in our packs."

Lance tossed his own skewer into the flames. "If you want to wash dishes while we travel, be my guest. I'd rather just pitch a stick into the fire," he said.

"Good point," Matt mused.

Anna finished next and pulled her dagger out. She then made a small cut on her leg with the blade and began trying to heal it. The crystal hanging around her neck pulsed with light a few times, but the cut didn't heal. "This is harder than I thought it would be," the ranger muttered with her eyes closed in concentration.

"Picture the mana flowing like water over the wound," Natalie suggested. She watched as Anna's brow furrowed and the cut slowly closed up. "Great work, Anna!" the mage cheered, "I'm impressed you got it to work so fast."

Anna blinked down at where the small wound had been, "Thanks. That took way more effort than I was expecting, though."

"It gets easier with practice, don't worry," Natalie said. "Pretty soon you'll be as good as I am at using Heal. Besides, you're tired; that always makes healing harder."

"Good job, Anna," Lance praised with a smile. He glanced at the sun, "It's probably late enough to start sleeping now. I'll take first watch. Matt, you can be next; if you want to sleep now, I'll wake you a little while before midnight. After that, Anna, I guess—if you're up to it. If not, I can take over again." Lance turned to glance at Natalie, "Natz, you spend the night sleeping, you need it the most."

The mage nodded, "Thanks. Before that, though, I need to tell you guys about some of the stuff I learned while I was captured." She glanced around at her friends. Matt scooted over to sit next to the mage, as a silent support. Natalie gave him a small smile before staring into the fire, "The first night I was there, he told me the real reason he wanted Greenwood Village wiped out." She glanced at Anna, "We thought that maybe it was because Anna was alone and a threat. Later, we were told that it was because they wanted her broken. I think both of those things are also true, but he told me something different this time. He said that Greenwood was destroyed to prevent the translation of the ancient language."

Anna stiffened in surprise, "Wait, what? But only a few people even knew there _was_ another language. I think besides myself and Lana, only two other people could have known, and they weren't able to read it." She scowled suddenly, "Although it was written down, that could be why. Better to burn the evidence than to risk someone finding it. And dead men can tell no tales."

Lance wrapped an arm around Anna as he muttered, "Bastard, they wouldn't have done anything, even if they had known."

Natalie nodded, "I know, that's why I think it was for the other reasons as well." She shivered, "He-he's also a sadist. I wouldn't be surprised if he got off on that kind of massacre."

Matt grabbed Natalie's hand and gave it a small squeeze, "Don't think about that. Is there anything else you learned?"

"Maybe," the mage said with a small nod. She turned to face Lance and Anna, "I told Matt about this already, but at one point—on my third night there, I think—a lone guard came into my cell. He had come in with their leader earlier to finally give me some water." She snorted bitterly, "I guess dying of dehydration wasn't acceptable for their ritual. Anyway, I-I thought the guard was there to do the same things to me as his leader, but he didn't. I'm not sure he was allowed to be in my cell at all; he kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was coming. He gave me a full flask of water, made sure I drank slowly to avoid being sick, and told me he regretted not being able to free me, but that he knew you guys were going to be there soon. He was right; the next day, you all showed up and Anna broke me out."

Lance stared at Natalie, "How could he have known? We didn't see or talk to anyone on our way to find you; not that we left alive, anyway. Anna followed a trail outside the caves."

The mage shook her head, "I don't know. He mentioned that he and a few others didn't agree with what their leader was doing. He told me that there was someone in a small village near the mountains with a gift for us. I think there's already a small group working to oppose Origin, or maybe there are just a few members who realize what they're doing is wrong. Either way, I'm pretty sure that that village," Natalie jerked her head in the direction of the mountains, "is the one he was talking about."

Matt frowned, "Do you think we should skip going there then?"

Anna shook her head, "That really isn't an option. We need supplies and information if we're going to travel across those mountains. Plus, Natalie needs weaponry."

Natalie nodded, although there was a haunted look on her face. "We'll just have to be careful. If this mysterious person wants to talk to us, then we can set some terms for it, or refuse to see them at all, but we need to go to the town," she said quietly.

"Fine, but we leave as soon as possible and no one goes anywhere without the rest of for any reason," Lance said firmly, looking around at the rest of them. "They might only need Natalie, but any one of us could be used as leverage."

Matt nodded, "Agreed. Besides, they need Anna dead still. There must be something else that she can read that they don't want us to know."

The other three nodded and Lance stood and moved outside of the circle of firelight to stand watch. Anna lied down close to the fire and fell asleep almost immediately. Matt and Natalie curled up not far away from the ranger, but neither fell asleep quickly. Natalie, although exhausted, was afraid to go to sleep and Matt could tell that she was still awake by her tense form. The swordsman gave a soft sigh, unwilling to sleep while she was still so afraid. Without a word, he shifted the mage until her ear was pressed against his chest and kept his breathing even as he began rubbing circles on her back with one hand in smooth, slow motions.

Natalie gave a gentle sigh as she listened to Matt's heartbeat and felt his hands gently run over her back. She smiled at the sweet, caring actions of her boyfriend and felt her tense muscles slowly relax. Her final thought as she drifted off was of how lucky she was to have him here with her.

Matt felt Natalie go limp against him as she fell asleep, but kept gently rubbing her back to be sure. He finally stopped after a few minutes when the mage remained silent, her breathing even and slow. The swordsman smiled down at his sleeping girlfriend before tilting his head to gaze into the fire. With a deep sigh he thought about what Natalie had gone through. She had been molested, starved, and sleep deprived for days on end. And despite what Lance and Anna had told him, he still blamed himself for her capture.

" _With_ o _ne spell I turned on the Lance and Anna and held them back while Natalie was kidnapped,_ " Matt thought to himself in disgust. " _And if Anna weren't so good at keeping out of sight, Natalie would be dead right now._ "

Lance stood not far away, watching Matt as he glared into the flames with self-loathing in his eyes. The gunner had a fairly good idea what his friend was thinking and he heaved a silent sigh. Lance discretely stepped further away from the camp and summoned NoLegs. With a soft flash, the legless cat appeared in front of him and opened his mouth to meow only to close it again without a sound when Lance held a finger to his lips.

"Hush, furball. I need you to keep watch while I talk with Matt, okay?" Lance said in a near silent murmur. The small cat nodded, although he looked confused. "Thanks, and if you could pop up for Natalie tomorrow, that would be awesome. Don't scare her, though," Lance added. NoLegs still looked puzzled, but he gave a quiet mew and began a silent circuit around the hill top.

Lance watched the cat until he was out of sight before turning and walking back to the camp. He called quietly to Matt, who was still awake and thinking, "Come here, Matt."

The swordsman blinked out of his thoughts and raised a confused eyebrow at his friend, but carefully detangled himself from Natalie. He carefully stepped away from the two sleeping women to join Lance where he was seated on the ground at the edge of the fire. Settling himself down next to the gunner, he asked, "Aren't you supposed to be keeping watch?"

"I summoned NoLegs to keep watch while I reinforce that what happened to Natalie was in no way your fault," Lance informed him flatly.

Matt flinched at the look he was getting from his friend. "Did my face make it that obvious?" he asked in a mumble, not even trying to deny that Lance had been spot on in his assumption.

Lance nodded with a half smirk, "Like you had said it aloud. I know how you feel about what happened—I felt the same way about Greenwood. I still do on some level."

The swordsman snorted, "Kind of hypocritical for _you_ to be telling me not to blame myself for bad stuff."

"Maybe I have no right to tell you not to blame yourself, but just because I did it doesn't make it correct; besides, I'm already working past it. I also know that Natalie will blame herself for you feeling guilty and it that in turn will just make you feel even worse. It's a vicious cycle that needs to stop here and now, Matt. I know it isn't easy, but you need to try," Lance bluntly said in a sharp tone. He gestured back at where Natalie was sleeping, "She might think she's more or less okay now, but I doubt that it's true."

Matt flinched and glanced back at the sleeping mage, "You think?"

Lance's face was dark as he replied, "I hope I'm wrong, but you don't get away from the sort of thing she went through without mental scars. Natalie is going to feel very insecure; she's going to jump at shadows, she'll probably have nightmares, and it's going to be very easy for her to slip into self-blame again. You definitely don't want to add to her burden, especially unnecessarily."

Matt's eyes flicked up to stare at Lance as he asked in a slightly challenging tone, "And how do I avoid that? It's all well and good to tell myself that I'm not to blame, but that doesn't mean I'll believe it. And she'll catch me in a lie, even if that lie is to myself."

The gunner held Matt's eyes with a serious look, "She needs you to be a rock to ground and support her until she's actually better. The best way to start being that is to pin the blame on who's actually responsible for this entire mess: Origin. Anna's already doing it, I'm doing it, and I'm telling you to do it. Now _you_ need to understand that and get Natalie to see it too, got it?"

The swordsman held Lance's gaze in silence for a long time. Finally, his lips quirked into a smile and his eyes lost most of the self-loathing that shadowed them. "You're right. None of us here planned for any of this crap and we certainly didn't want it," Matt said. He grinned at Lance, "Thanks man, I needed that verbal smack."

Lance smirked back, "Anytime, Matt. Now go get some rest; I'm still waking you at midnight for watch."

Matt let out a mock-groan, but shot Lance one final grin as the gunner turned to head back to keeping watch. The swordsman settled behind Natalie again and carefully tucked an arm around the sleeping mage. Unlike before, Matt began to fall asleep almost immediately.

**DDDDDD**

Matt groaned as he felt Lance shaking him awake again what felt like minutes later. He tightened his grip around Natalie's waist, hoping that maybe the gunner would let him sleep for another few minutes. He snapped awake when he realized it was the mage trembling that had shaken him awake, not Lance.

The mage whimpered slightly just as Matt began rubbing her back again. For a few moments, Natalie calmed back down and Matt thought she had been soothed until she suddenly bolted upright with a scream. Anna shot up with a yell of surprise, dagger in hand and a blanket caught on her head. Lance came sprinting into the ring of light, gunblade raised.

Natalie took one look at the pair with terror-filled eyes, and shrank back only to jerk to the side when she collided with a body right behind her. Immediately, the mage released completely uncontrolled mana in the form of lightning. Bolts of electricity crackled wildly around the terrified woman and Lance cursed. He grabbed Anna and dragged her back, out of range of danger. Matt flinched as a bolt struck his shoulder and his muscles twitched from the electric shock.

"Matt, calm her down! She's going to seriously hurt one of us or herself," Lance snapped.

" _Well, duh; but how to do that?_ " Matt sarcastically wondered to himself.

He eyed the crackling veil around Natalie for a brief moment. There was no break in the mana, but the mage's face was turning white and sweat beaded on it. Matt's face set in determination and he stepped forward, straight into the lightning. He ignored the arcing pain as he hugged Natalie around the shoulders. He leaned in to whisper something in the mage's ear. The electricity snapped even more furiously as he grabbed her, but it disappeared abruptly as whatever he had said sank into the mage's mind. Matt pulled away to look into Natalie's eyes. He smiled as he saw them clear again before frowning as he realized her face was getting darker. A second later and everything went black.

" _Matt?!_ " Natalie cried when Matt collapsed. She fell to her knees next to the unconscious swordsman. She reached out with a trembling hand only to snatch it back for fear of hurting him further.

Matt's muscles twitched sporadically and his breathing was choppy. There were angry red lines that spider webbed across his exposed skin. The mage wrapped her arms around herself and tears dripped down her face. Anna's healing song swelled from behind the mage and a gentle green glow enveloped Matt's body. To everyone's immense relief, the twitching stopped and the swordsman's breaths became slow and even. The healing magic stopped and Anna hesitantly stepped forward to check on Matt, careful to give Natalie a wide berth.

"He's fine, just asleep now," the ranger announced. She turned to eye Natalie, "Are you okay, Natz?"

The mage didn't seem to hear Anna as she stared at Matt. The words he had whispered in her ear kept ringing in her mind: ' _I love you._ ' Three gentle words she no longer felt she deserved to hear ever again; she probably never would, either. Maybe Matt had forgiven her for what had happened during her imprisonment, but how could he possibly overlook her attacking him for no reason?

"How could I do that to him? I could have killed him and it would have been entirely my fault," Natalie whispered.

Anna opened her mouth to reassure the mage that what had happened wasn't her fault, but Lance beat her to it.

" _ARGH!_ No more blame game! Stop it, just stop!" Lance yelled, his voice echoing through the night. He stared at the shocked girls in front of him with immense frustration in his eyes, "Anna blaming herself for Greenwood, me blaming myself for Anna's suffering. Matt blaming himself for what happened to Natalie, and Natalie doing the same! It needs to _stop_ , _right_ here _, right_ now! We're picking ourselves and each other apart bit by bit. We have a common link to all of these problems and it isn't anyone here. Origin is to blame for all of this—not you two, not I, and not Matt. They and their stupid god won't need to destroy us if we've already done it for them."

The two girls gaped at Lance in shock. The gunner's eyes were flashing with determination and sorrow. Natalie opened her mouth to insist that the electrocution she had given Matt was definitely her fault, but Lance cut her off.

" _No._ I know what you're going to say, Natalie, and I am telling you right now that it's bullshit. You had a perfectly normal reaction given recent circumstances. I know it, Anna knows it, Matt knows it, and if you would calm down and think for two seconds, you would know it, too. I want you to do that right now. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and think rationally," Lance said firmly.

The gunner held Natalie's eyes until she followed his directions. When she reopened them again, her eyes were far calmer, and she nodded. Lance returned the nod with satisfaction.

"Good. Now what set off the lightning? It wasn't just the nightmare; you were sitting there for a few seconds before the rest happened," Lance asked. He frowned as Natalie's face began to close off, "And don't you dare start clamming up either. Something set that off and I suspect it was something Anna or I did. We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong. If there is something, anything, we can do to make your recovery easier or faster, tell us."

Natalie gave a small watery laugh, "You're turning into a therapist, on us."

Lance rolled his eyes, but he was grinning as well, "I've studied how people think. Now stop trying to change the subject and start talking."

Anna grinned as Natalie's jaw dropped in shock, "He's got you pinned, Natz. You might want to just talk."

The mage huffed, "Fine, Doctor Lance. You already know I had a nightmare and I'm sure you can guess what about, so we'll skip that. When I sat up, I couldn't see you guys clearly in the darkness. The blanket caught on Anna's head looked like the hooded robes the assassins wear, and you're wearing black."

"The guy abusing you wore black?" Lance asked. He frowned when Natalie nodded, "Okay, then. I'll stop wearing black, and I'll tell Matt to do the same. Does Anna need to quit wearing that Ninja Dress, or will you be able to tell she's a girl?"

Natalie hesitated, "I'd like to think that I'll be able to tell the difference, but if I'm panicking again… Well, I just don't know."

Anna frowned, "I can stop wearing the dress; unless I need to sneak into somewhere again, of course."

Lance nodded, "That would be best, I think. Be sure to tell us if we need to change anything else. Next—and you're not going to like this, Natalie—you need to talk about everything that happened." He raised his hand to silence her and Anna's protests. "You don't have to tell me or Anna if you don't want to, and you don't need to do it now, but you need to let it out at some point. Bottling up the incident and trying to pretend it didn't happen _will not work_. I tried it with my childhood for years and I managed to ignore the trauma, but it was still there, and letting it out was a huge relief—even though it was painful at the time. Matt will definitely be willing to listen, and I've already gotten through his head that he bears no blame here. I know you probably already told him what happened to some degree, but you need to confront and come to terms with how it makes you feel, and you need to let out the stress. Crying, screaming, killing some monsters, whatever will help. And keep in mind that we're here, okay?"

Natalie swallowed and nodded. She gave Lance a trembling smile and said, "You are just like a therapist right now, you know." She laughed as Lance gave a huff and muttered that he wasn't going to quit shooting things to be a shrink. Still smiling, the mage said, "Thank you, Lance. I… needed to hear that. I'll let you guys know if anything else is going to be a problem. For now, just no black, no hoods, and no chains; not that I think that last one will be a problem."

"Definitely not," Lance agreed with a smirk. He waved a hand at her discarded blanket, "I sent NoLegs out to scout the way we came, and he didn't see anyone; I don't think they're going to come after us tonight. NoLegs will take over watch for now. Everyone go to sleep. We'll need the rest for tomorrow."

Natalie was already yawning as she grabbed the blanket and dragged it over to where Matt lay on the grass. She tossed the blanket over the swordsman and curled up next to him. The exhausted mage fell asleep shortly after. Anna sat back down on her blanket and watched Lance walk off out of sight. The gunner came back wearing his Casual Clothes and settled down next to Anna. The ranger wrapped one arm around his waist as he released a huge sigh and his shoulders slumped.

"Good work, Lance," she murmured.

Lance shrugged, "It was mostly logic. Someone just needed to say it out loud."

Anna grinned, "Maybe it was logic for you, but I would never have known what to suggest or have told her to talk about the problem. Where did you learn all that?"

The gunner's shoulders tensed slightly for a moment before he relaxed. "Dad had me learn it; I had a lot of lessons in psychology when I was little. 'The best way to break a person down is to figure out how to build them up', after all," Lance quoted in a quiet, bitter voice. He snorted lightly, "Didn't take almost any of it to heart for myself, obviously, but I still know it." He glanced over at Natalie and added, "Really, you're not supposed to push a person to heal like I did, but we don't have the luxury of safety or time. I hope I didn't just seriously screw her up."

Anna squeezed him lightly, "Well, regardless of why you learned it and the nut involved in teaching it to you, I'm glad you knew it today. And for the record: I really think you helped her. Natalie's strong and she has Matt and the two of us supporting her. She'll be okay. Now then, how about we get that sleep?"

Lance nodded and lay down. He pulled Anna down next to him and tossed one arm over her stomach. The ranger snuggled closer with a soft sigh. Minutes later, both were fast asleep.


	14. Chapter 14

Stiff and aching muscles were what woke Matt early the next morning before the sun had risen. He gave a small groan as he sat up and raised his hand to rub the back of his neck. He frowned as he had to actually work to get his body to do what he wanted it to. He spent a few seconds wondering why the heck he was felt so stiff and sluggish. It wasn't until he glanced around the camp at his still-sleeping friends and his eyes fell on Natalie that he remembered what had happened.

" _Right, Natz had a nightmare and panicked,_ " Matt recalled.

He sighed as he realized that he was probably suffering from some lingering effect of electrocution. With another glance at Natalie, Matt resolved to keep quiet about the problem unless she asked; he didn't want to make her feel guilty over a complete accident. The swordsman bit his tongue to suppress a groan as he stood up. A few seconds later, he heard a familiar meow and turned to see NoLegs come out of the shadows. The cat had his standard short sword and small metal buckler hovering at the ready.

"Hey, NoLegs; keeping watch?" Matt asked in a soft voice. He smiled as the cat mewed and nodded. "Want me to take over since I'm awake?"

NoLegs gave another nod and bounced over to curl up next to Natalie. Matt turned and stiffly walked to the edge of the hill and lowered himself with a groan to sit on the ground. He massaged one of his aching legs and let out a hiss at the prickles the swept through his nerves. Giving up when the rubbing failed to alleviate the ache, Matt stared across the grassland to the small village they would be heading for later. He wondered what the supposed 'gift' the person who had helped Natalie had promised them was. Hopefully, it was some clue as to how to take down Origin. He doubted that the meeting was a trap; it didn't make sense to tell Natalie to go to a village when she was scheduled to be sacrificed.

The sky was lightening with the approaching dawn when Matt glanced back at a shuffling noise from the campsite. Gritting his teeth against the ache in his neck, he nodded a greeting to Lance as the gunner stretched. Lance sent Matt a worried frown at the stiff movement and walked over to flop next to him on the grass.

"How're you feeling?" the gunner quietly asked.

Matt grunted, "Like there are weights tied to my body and I decided to pushups with a boulder on my back. I'm stiff, sore, and everything responds slowly."

Lance winced sympathetically, "Ouch. Sounds like you might have some stun going still. Let me to call a Medipack in for you."

He got up at Matt's nod and headed down the hill to speak into his radio. A few seconds later, and he caught the Medipack that drifted down and walked back to Matt. He pulled the box open and fished a couple of wrapped pills out. He broke them from their packages and handed them to Matt. The swordsman swallowed them dry and settled back to wait. A minute later and he gave a sigh of relief.

"Much better, thanks," Matt said. He glanced back at where Natalie was still sleeping with NoLegs curled up at her side. Turning back to Lance he said, "I was wondering how the heck I would hide that from Natz. How'd she handle what happened last night?"

The gunner shrugged, "Pretty well, all things considered. She blamed herself for it, of course, but I gave her a long talking-to. She panicked because I was wearing black and Anna caught in a blanket made her look like one of Origin's assassins. I'm guessing the lightning started up when she bumped into you and felt trapped. You need to change into something else, by the way; no black until she's over this."

Matt frowned, "She thought we were them? That's a problem. I don't have a lot of clothing, especially since my fur armor is ruined. Most of my other outfits are heavy armor, and I don't think I can run in that for very long. I guess I could just wear the blue tank top, but it's a little cold for that, and the pants are black."

Lance eyed Matt thoughtfully, "I have some leather armor that's pretty light. It's red and gold, definitely not something that is likely to upset Natz. We're about the same height so it should fit you well enough; might be a little tight at the shoulders, though."

"Sounds good to me," Matt said with a grin.

Lance dug the set out of his Adventure Pouch and laid them out for the swordsman. Matt tugged his Pirate jacket off followed by the blue undershirt and tossed them to the ground. He paused at the sharp inhale Lance gave and turned to shoot him a questioning look. He frowned as he saw the gunner's gaze was fixed on his chest and glanced down. He blinked at a series of scars across his torso and raised a hand to trace a particularly long one that ran just below his ribs.

"Must be from when I fought those assassins," Matt murmured thoughtfully. He shrugged and gave a grunt as he pulled on the padded cloth for the Leather Armor, covering the marks. "Whatever, it was a matter of time before something scarred; and frankly, I prefer scars over dead," the swordsman said as he straightened the shirt before tugging the leather part of the armor on.

Lance nodded as he watched Matt's fingers buckle the various straps in place. The swordsman pulled the red leather pants up over the black ones from the Pirate outfit. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty miraculous that you managed to avoid scars before now. I can't believe I missed them yesterday, though," he finally said with a sigh when Matt settled back down next to him. He waited until the swordsman had stuffed the top of his pirate outfit away before speaking again.

"We need to discuss how to handle Natalie," Lance said in a serious voice. Matt's attention snapped to his face and the gunner went on, "I'm not surprised in the least with how she reacted last night and I don't blame her for it, but the situation was still incredibly dangerous. I know we're supposed to get a staff for her at the small town up ahead, but I doubt they will have any staves that we can buy. She needs some way to focus her mana without a staff until we can get her one, and to control her magic when she's panicked. We're lucky she used lightning last night and not fire, and we're lucky she didn't get any backlash from her own magic. The amount of mana Natz has is staggering and it needs to be channeled properly or temporarily siphoned if she panics."

Matt shook his head immediately, "We can't siphon her or she'll flip. That's partially how they kept her under control."

Lance cursed, "Bastards." He hesitated with his gaze on Natalie as he thought. Finally, he looked back at Matt and suggested, "Give her your crystal necklace. It won't do much for attacking, but it can act as a absorber for her mana when she panics. Hers is missing; they probably tucked in her Adventure Pouch or they pawned it off for gold. You don't need yours, so let her borrow it. We'll have to hope that's enough." He paused and Matt nodded an agreement.

The gunner's face settled into a serious look that had Matt tensing, "I told her that she needs to talk about what happened to her, and you're the one who she will feel most comfortable talking with. Obviously, she's told you some of it, but she needs to come to terms with the fact that it happened, not pretend it was just some bad dream, or that it wasn't as damaging as it was. Don't let her avoid the problem, but push her too hard either, okay?" He returned the nod Matt gave him and added, "She'll probably be more comfortable if Anna and I aren't around when you discuss it. I know that isn't a likely situation for any extended period of time, but if you get the chance, take it."

Matt nodded again and stood up with a stretch, "Got it; get Natz to talk, but don't force her. Should we wake them and get going now?"

Lance nodded and moved to shake Anna awake. The ranger sat up with a yawn and nodded as Lance whispered something in her ear. She and Lance headed off out of sight and vanished into the trees. They came back with Anna wearing her Green Dress instead of the Ninja one. By that point, Natalie was up and petting a content and purring NoLegs with a small smile on her face. Matt stood not far away with a small grin as he watched her.

The swordsman glanced over at the returning pair with a grin. He reached out to offer a hand to Natalie to pull her to her feet. The mage flinched back from the sudden motion and Matt's hand dropped. He stepped away from Natalie with a hurt look that was soon wiped away to be replaced with a reassuring—if sad—smile. The mage blinked the sudden fear out of her eyes and returned his smile with a frown. NoLegs jumped off her lap as she stood and mewed something that made the mage frown even further.

Lance glanced between the pair in concern and cleared his throat, "Natz, I want you to take Matt's crystal necklace until we get you a staff. I don't know if you'll be able to use any attacking magic with it, but it's mostly to give your mana a focus point if you panic again."

He closely watched as Matt pulled the pendant off and held it out for Natalie to take. Natalie took the blue crystal and slipped it around her neck. The mage didn't flinch that time, until NoLegs' tail twitched and he jumped on a random bug the scuttled past. It was so slight that if the gunner hadn't been looking for it, he would have missed it. Lance's frown deepened and he took a sudden step forward. As he had expected, Natalie shifted back a step and the same fear appeared in her eyes, this time with a swell of mana that set the crystal around her neck gleaming. The gunner stepped back again and the glow died a few seconds later.

Anna watched the display with concern. "Well this is a problem," she murmured. She stepped forward and Natalie made no movement. The ranger turned to shoot a questioning look at Lance who gave a nod.

"Okay, here's the formation: Anna, you stay next to Natalie at the back, Matt and I will take point. No sudden moves around Natz, if we can avoid it," Lance said in a firm voice.

Matt stepped forward, careful to leave plenty of space between him and Natalie, and stood next to the gunner. Lance shot him a look and frowned at the upset gleam in the swordsman's eyes. Natalie's head dipped to stare at the ground as Anna moved to stand next to her. NoLegs pressed against the mage's leg with a reassuring purr. Silently, the party started walking towards the village. Every once in a while, Matt would glance back at Natalie, and finally the mage called a stop.

"Look, I want to get past this. Matt, come here," Natalie said in a quiet, but determined tone.

The swordsman cast a quick look at Lance who shrugged. Matt moved to walk up to the mage. Natalie nodded and grabbed his hand with her own. When she remained calm, Matt relaxed and gave her hand a quick squeeze; delighted when she returned it without hesitation. NoLegs purred happily from the ground and meowed something.

Natalie nodded to the cat with a smile, "You're right, NoLegs: I can't let the fear control me." She turned her gaze to Lance before shifting it to Anna and finally to Matt, "I think I'll be okay if we avoid suddenly grabbing me. I'll let you know if I'm starting to get nervous. Okay?"

"Okay, sounds good," Lance agreed with a small smirk, "Anna, you can come up here. Thanks for your help last night furball; you can go rest now."

The cat meowed once and vanished with a small flash. Anna moved to stand next to Lance and they continued walking. Before long the party walked into the small village. They huddled closer together and walked in a line with Anna and Natalie in the center. Each of them scanned the streets constantly as they walked. Matt stopped a random passerby on the streets to ask for directions to a store. To their surprise the woman stared at them before she gave a furtive glance around.

"Are your names Matt, Lance, Anna, and Natalie?" she whispered.

Immediately, the four tensed and slid back. Natalie let out a whimper and shuffled closer to Anna who protectively pulled the mage behind her. Matt and Lance grabbed for their weapons.

The woman shushed them and waved her hands frantically. She looked around again and whispered, "You four are safe here. My brother sent word from Origin's headquarters that you were headed this way. I'm supposed to take you to a place for a girl named Natalie to wash up and rest. "

Lance frowned and relaxed some, but didn't let go of his weapon. "If we're safe here, then why are you so nervous?"

"You never know who might say the wrong thing at the wrong time. It's better if you guys' names aren't heard and repeated," the woman explained. She glanced around and said, "We need to get you four off the street, follow me to my house. I promise I have no weapons on me or at my home, but you can keep me at sword point if it makes you feel better."

The four exchanged glances. Matt gave a subtle nod and turned to the woman, "We'll follow, but I want you in front of us at all times."

The woman nodded and turned to lead them away. She kept her movements slow and non-threatening, and announced where they would be turning before doing so. Finally, she led them to a fairly large house and opened the door. She waved them inside, but headed in first when they frowned. Lance took a deep breath and walked in next. A few seconds later and he called the all clear to the others. The rest of the party followed him in and found themselves in a comfortably furnished room. The woman silently watched as they took in her home, eyes darting for any potential weaponry or hiding places. Finally they relaxed and turned to face her.

"Before I start talking, please close the front door. I don't want any eavesdroppers," she said.

Lance nodded, shut the door, and locked it. The gunner turned back and arched an eyebrow, "Okay, we're here. We were told that you have a gift for us?"

The woman nodded, "Do you want to go with me to get it, or would you prefer I tell you where it's stashed?"

Matt frowned in thought, "We'll go with you to get it, I doubt you'll pull a fast one on us, but keep in mind that we can and will fight back if this is a trap."

The woman nodded, "I understand. We don't have to go far, but if one of you could give me a hand? It's hidden under a floorboard and I don't have the strength to pry it up."

"I'll do it. Where's the board?" Lance said.

They were led to a sitting room and the woman tapped her foot on a random board just off the center of the room. The gunner knelt down and ran one finger around the floorboard, finding the largest crack possible. Anna passed him her dagger and he wedged the point of the blade in between the boards and carefully pried it up.

Lance's jaw dropped and he murmured, "No way."

Anna moved forward and peered down, "Natz, it's your Adventure Pouch! Oh, and some rolled up pieces of paper."

The mage gasped, "Really?"

She tugged Matt forward and beamed as Anna passed the small red bag over. A quick check inside revealed all of her staves besides her Crystal Staff were there. Her crystal necklace wasn't inside, either. Natalie gave a small laugh of relief and pulled out her Seraphim staff. The silver wings and blue crystal gleamed in the light.

The woman spoke up from behind them, "My brother left a decoy bag in Origin's armory. He told me to tell you that he couldn't take your red staff with the crystal without someone noticing. The rolls of paper are rubbings of some weird language."

The four party members' heads jerked around. They glanced at each other and nodded.

Matt sheathed his sword, stood up straight, and held his hand out to the woman, "Thanks for all of this. I'm sorry we were so mistrustful."

The woman shook the offered hand with a small smile, "Not at all; I've heard some of what's happened to you four. I'm not surprised you don't trust me; I wouldn't trust anyone either. I know a little about you already from my father, too, though. He says you're a friendly bunch."

"Who's your father?" Anna asked with a frown.

The woman gave a sigh of fond exasperation, "A crazy old coot who hangs out in caves staring at glowing rocks all day for months on end. You probably know him as Shawn."

Anna grinned, "You're Shawn's daughter?"

"Yes, my name's Beth. Pleased to meet you all," the woman said. She smiled as the four introduced themselves. "Now then, I have a bath I can run for Natalie and the rest of you upstairs. Do you want to do that now, or after our talk?" Beth asked.

Natalie glanced at the other three and turned back when they shrugged, "Now, please." She hesitated and glanced back again, "Can you come with me Anna? I don't want to be alone." She gave a sigh of relief when Anna nodded and the pair followed Beth upstairs and the sound of running water was heard.

Beth came back down alone and motioned for the two men to sit. "I want to get this part out of the way while Natalie isn't here, if it's okay with you. I think it might trigger some unpleasant memories for her, so she'll be better off not hearing it," she said in a quiet voice.

Matt and Lance nodded and sat down. They turned their attention to the woman as she settled down across from them. Beth was silent for a long moment before she tightly clasped her hands in her lap.

"Your friend isn't the first person I've heard of who's been Origin's prisoner. I had a close friend that they took about six months ago. She was skilled in magic, only about nineteen. My brother infiltrated their base alone to try and save her. He was too late," Beth informed them quietly. She went on in an even softer tone, "He came back and told me that they had held, tormented, and abused her for several days before offering her to some demon. He found her body drained nearly completely of blood in the ritual chamber. There were signs of heavy abuse and starvation as well."

Lance frowned, "They did the same thing to Natz, only Anna busted her out before the sacrifice. Do you know why they're doing this?"

The woman gave a helpless shrug, "No, I don't. My brother says they always go for strong magic users. They've done about four sacrifices now, as far as we know."

Matt glanced at the stairs where he could hear Natalie and Anna talking, "Is it always women?"

"I think so? I know for sure that two of them were, three, if you include Natalie, so I would assume yes," the woman said with an uncertain look.

Lance leaned back, "How often does your brother come back here and does Shawn know what he's up to?"

"Dad doesn't know, no. And my brother comes by once every few weeks. He should be swinging by today or tomorrow, but maybe not since Origin is probably all in an uproar over Natalie's escape," Beth replied.

Natalie and Anna came down the stairs with bright smiles and wet hair. The ranger was playfully grumbling that using magic was cheating. Natalie merely stuck her tongue out with a laugh. The two women turned to the others.

"You look like you're feeling better," Beth commented with a smile. She stood up and announced that she would go make some sandwiches, leaving the four in the room. Soon the sounds of dishes clinking came from around the corner.

Anna sat down next to Lance with a sigh, "Baths are amazing and she has a huge tub. Natalie cheats during splash fights, though."

"Hey, making more water is not cheating," Natalie protested with a laugh. She hesitantly edged down to sit next to Matt and leaned into him with a sigh.

Anna popped up and brandished a finger at the mage, "Maybe not, but throwing the new water definitely is!"

Matt grinned, "Don't be a sore loser, Anna." He wrapped an arm around Natalie only to pull it away when she stiffened. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Lance cleared his throat, "While we're waiting, how about we look at the rubbings?"

Anna jumped up, "Good plan! I bet it's that language again."

The ranger plucked the rolls of paper from Lance's hand and spread one out on the floor. She settled down next to it and began mumbling to herself. The other three sat in an awkward silence until Beth came in with some sandwiches and four glasses of ice water. She set them on a low table and watched Anna work with fascination.

"You can read that?" the woman asked in wonder.

Anna didn't reply so Lance answered her, "Yes, and she's done a lot of it recently. She gets a little absorbed, though. You could probably say anything to her and she wouldn't hear you."

Matt grinned, "Wait, so if I called her fat…?"

"She would stick an arrow in you, Mr. Eats-Half-Of-His-Weight-Each-Meal," Anna snapped from the floor.

Lance smirked, "And if she didn't, I would kick you."

"Yeesh, it was a joke. Touchy, touchy," Matt grumbled.

Natalie laughed and relaxed enough to start eating.

Anna idly picked up the sandwich Beth left for her and began eating. She chewed slowly, intently staring at the smudged rubbing. The other four chatted while she worked, exchanging information. They didn't see the ranger's brow begin to furrow with concern. She took another bite of her sandwich and leaned over to spread another roll.

While the ranger worked, Matt left to go borrow the bath to clean up. When the swordsman came back with damp hair, Lance left to wash. He came back and began asking questions about a shrine hidden in the mountains.

Lance was nodding as Beth described a local legend about a temple hidden in the mountains. She told them it was an old myth people in town liked to talk about once in a while. It had the usual stories tied to it. Supposedly, there was a temple in the mountains, but you needed a guide of some sort to find it, people went into the range and some never came back out, those who did come back didn't find any temple, and of course some sort of undefeatable monster defended the place. She told them that the general store sold all manners of climbing gear and would be happy to sell supplies for their hike.

Their conversation broke off when they heard the front door open. There were footsteps and a hooded figure entered the sitting room. Anna shot up from where she still hunched over the paper when Natalie let out a shriek. The ranger spun around to see an Origin assassin standing in the door. The man raised his hands in surrender and shook his hood down when Matt and Lance sprang up.

"I'm friendly, I promise!" the man yelped. He gestured at the panicking mage, "Calm her down and she'll probably recognize me; I'm the one who told her to come here!"

Beth nodded, "That's my brother. I'm a little ashamed that he walked in without knocking; bad manners, Sam."

Anna moved to calm Natalie; hushing the mage and rubbing her back. Matt and Lance lowered their weapons, but they eyed the newcomer warily.

"Besides, you knew they might be here today, why didn't you think of what the poor girl would think when you walked in?" Beth went on in a scolding voice.

Natalie had calmed down at this point, though she still clung to Anna. She nodded to whatever the ranger whispered in her ear. Anna looked up and waved to Matt and Lance.

"She knows him," the ranger announced.

Sam released a heavy sigh of relief as the pair of men in front of him stood down and quit glaring. "I'm sorry. I didn't think of how she was likely to react to the cloak," he apologized. He glanced over at the scared mage and gave her a small smile, "I'm so glad to see you're free, by the way."

Natalie gave a small nod and whispered, "Thank you for your help back then."

The man nodded and turned to his sister, "I think we should pick up and move. Natalie's escape has them scouring for spies. The grandmaster had twenty men killed today and he's sent men out to every town to look for Natalie and the others. James and I are in charge here, so we're okay for now, but I don't want to push our luck."

Beth drew in a deep breath before slowly letting it out, "Okay, I have almost all of the most important stuff packed already. Let me go finish packing and you can tell them what you know. I talked about the sacrifice and told them the legends of the temple in the mountain. Natalie has her stuff back, too."

Sam nodded and watched as she left up the stairs. "I wish I hadn't gotten her involved in this," he murmured. The man gave himself a shake and turned to the other four people in the room, "Okay, we need to get moving fast so I'll tell you what I know. Please don't interrupt; I'll answer anything I can after I'm done."

He waited until the other four nodded. Anna moved to gather up the papers she had been translating while Sam spoke, "Okay, so you know I've been spying on Origin for a several months; I've been there for long enough that I'm not under any scrutiny for Natalie's escape, but that might change. The rubbings I see you've been working on came from a stone tablet the grandmaster brought back from some dig site. I don't know where that site was or what the tablet says, but the man's been obsessing over it. I got the rubbings during one of the times he was sacrificing."

"The sacrifices have always been to temporarily free some ancient demon, but the release only lasts as long as the sacrifice does. He needs Natalie because she has very pure mana and he claims that fact would be enough to break whatever the spell is that's holding his demon. That's all I know about Origin that can help you. You four need to get moving as soon as you can; it won't be long until the backup scouts will come here and start questioning people."

Lance nodded, "Got it. We'll head out shortly. First though, I have a few things I need some info on. One, I need to know what the quickest path into the mountains is that will leave the faintest trail. Two, I want to know how you knew we were coming yesterday. And three, I need to know if there has been some new addition to Origin. They've been more organized and effective lately—that ambush in the Crystal Caverns was near flawless—and that leads me to believe they have a tactician now."

Sam blinked and nodded, "Yes, a man semi-joined recently. He doesn't actually care about Origin's goals, but the Grandmaster likes how effective he is. The man has been behind most of the recent assaults on you guys. I don't know his name or what he looks like; he wears a strange, black cloak that acts as some kind of camouflage. All that I can really tell you about him are that he calls himself 'the General,' is completely ruthless, incredibly smart, and really hates one of the men in your group. He never names which one, but he seems set on killing him. I think he favors guns as his weaponry, as that's what he carries, but I've never actually seen him fight."

Lance frowned, "That doesn't give us much to work with, but I guess it's better than nothing. What about the other two things?"

"I knew you were coming because I was watching for you, and I found the assassins you killed outside the stronghold. I disposed of the bodies on my way here, so no one else is likely to even know for a while that they were killed. As for the mountain: the trail head is at the end of the village. There's a split soon after you start; take the far left trail and it will get you high up, quickly. The route should be mostly stone, so not a lot of worry for leaving footprints. Be careful of unstable footing, though," Sam said quickly. He turned to greet his sister as she stopped next to him, dressed in traveling gear.

"Okay guys, we need to move and we need to move fast. Anna, I want you at the back covering our trail until we hit the stone, then come up to the front. Your bow will be more effective if you're up higher. Matt, you'll be next in case we get some followers; hold them off until we can regroup. Take the back when Anna moves up. Natalie you stay in front of Matt; keep an eye out for trouble and act as support as needed. I'll take point with Super Snipe. Take no chances: attack first ask, question later," Lance rapidly listed. The other three nodded agreement.

Sam blinked in amazement at the rapid orders then shook himself, "Good luck, you four. We'll be in touch with our father in Whitefall. If you're in the area, swing by there and ask if we've left any information. I doubt anything will come up, but just in case."

Matt nodded, "Thank you for your help and hospitality, Beth. And thank you, Sam, for what you did for Natalie while she was imprisoned; that means more to me than you'll ever know. Thank you both for giving us as much information as you could. We probably don't need to tell you that you never saw us and to be careful."

Beth gave a weak smile, "Saw who? Good luck, and keep safe."

The six people left the house and split off in two directions. Beth and Sam headed for the town exit to the fields, and were joined by a second man in a hooded cloak. Lance, Natalie, Matt, and Anna headed for the imposing peaks. The four heroes stopped briefly at the general store and sent Anna in with her cloak on to get some supplies. The ranger came back out a few minutes later, shaking her hood down and they headed out the gate, up the steep trail, and into the mountains.


	15. Chapter 15

The four heroes' progress up the mountain trail was rapid. The path they were following was primarily packed dirt and rocks with the occasional scrub brush or clump of scraggly grass. Anna worked to swiftly hide any signs of their passing. Matt was a short ways ahead of her, scanning the way they had just come from for enemies. Natalie walked a little further ahead of him; her face pale, but determined as she kept an eye out for attackers. Lance was at the lead, picking the way up the trail that would lead to the fewest footprints or other signs that Anna would have to remove.

The gunner's eyes flicked around the rocky landscape, constantly searching for potential issues or monsters and occasionally glancing back to see how far he was from Anna and Matt. Finally, though, they reached the crossroads Sam had told them about. Lance stopped and waited for the other three to catch up. Once they were gathered, Anna scanned the path they would be taking and nodded.

"Sam was right: we won't leave any tracks on this stone. At least, not without trying," she announced.

Lance nodded, "Good. Then let's we get as high as we can, as fast as possible and try to find any place that looks like an old building. Shift closer together, and Anna, you're in front now. Watch your step and keep an eye out below for followers, everyone."

The group shifted around and they began climbing the steep path.

Natalie spoke up from near the back, "What do you think the guardian of the temple is?"

Matt grunted, "Probably a giant rock, if there's anything there at all."

"It's possible that there isn't anything there after all this time," Lance agreed.

"I hope we can find this temple at all. Beth mentioned needing a guide, after all," Anna sighed from the front.

"I sure hope not. What guide would still be alive after thousands of years?" Matt wondered.

Lance snickered, "It could be a zombie or a ghost." He grinned as he felt Natalie give his back a reprimanding poke with her Seraphim staff.

"Not funny, Lance," the mage said with a pout.

Anna laughed from the front before cutting off with a shout as she jumped back. Her foot slipped on some loose pieces of stone and she began to tip back, arms whirling. Lance steadied her with one hand on her back until she regained her balance. The other two pressed forward to see what the trouble was and saw a pink and purple cloud-like creature in in the middle of their path; a Wind Sprite. Lance shot it with his gunblade and cursed when the bullet merely passed through the creature with only a couple of puffs of cloud drifting off on either side of the monster's body. Natalie grinned and cast Pulse on the Sprite. The dark magic burst the monster and wisps of pink and purple clouds drifted away.

"I love doing that," Natalie said with satisfaction.

Matt laughed, "Been awhile since we've had some regular monsters to fight. It'll be a nice change."

Anna nodded, "Yeah, I've missed just regular monster hunting. We can't forget about Origin, though."

"Of course," Matt agreed. He waved for Anna to keep leading.

They carefully wound deeper and higher into the mountain range. They never saw any sign of any followers and by noon, they began to relax. There were a number of trails along the way, all stone, and even the best tracker couldn't have known for sure which ones they had taken. The path they were on widened with a cliff on one side, and a sheer drop off on the other. Anna fell back to walk beside Lance and began practicing her healing again. Natalie moved forwards to watch and give pointers.

Everything was peaceful until Matt suddenly lunged forwards with a shout and his sword drawn. The three focused on Anna's healing lesson jolted with surprise. Natalie shied into Lance who gently steadied her. The gunner scowled at Matt, wondering what the heck he was attacking. His eyes ran over the cliff face. The stone was a gray-green color with a few scraggly plants growing in the cracks. As far as he could tell, there was nothing there.

A blast of wind hit the center of their group just as Matt brought his sword down on a piece of the stone wall. Lance, Anna, and Natalie were blown to the ground but jolted up again at a familiar shriek. Matt's sword had come into contact with a wind elemental. The creature's coloring was ideal for camouflage against the stone. Matt cursed as the elemental flew out of reach and blasted him with a small cyclone of air. He flew backwards and slammed into the cliff face where he slumped to the ground, stunned.

Anna shot to her feet and nocked an arrow. Lightning sparked around the head a second before she let it fly at the monster. She growled when the elemental whipped to the side. Her growl changed to a cheer as that movement entrapped it in a web of lightning. Natalie held the creature in place, shocking it, as Lance loaded a bullet and shot it dead. The monster's body landed with a thud on the stone.

Lance moved past it to help Matt to his feet. "Good spot. It would have been a nasty situation if it had gotten the drop on us."

Matt winced and rubbed his lower back, "It was a lucky spot. It shifted some and I caught the movement."

"Well, however you did it, good work," Natalie said with a smile. She raised her staff to heal him, but lowered it again. "Hey, Anna, try healing Matt," she suggested.

Anna started, "Are you sure? I don't think I'm good enough yet."

Matt grinned at her, "Practice makes perfect. It's just a bruise, so it shouldn't be too hard, right? Worse come to worst and Natz can heal it."

"Okay, then, let me try," Anna said with a smile.

She closed her eyes and focused on Matt. She drew up some of her mana and directed it towards the swordsman. She frowned as she felt the mana repelled. With a furrowed brow, she worked to weave her mana through Matt's. There was a moment of silence where her crystal flashed and Matt let out a sigh. Ann opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Did it work?" she asked hopefully.

Matt carefully twisted to the side. "Still a slight ache, but much better," he told her.

Anna slumped, "Darn, I thought I got it all."

Natalie shook her head, "Actually, I'm impressed you got anything done. Healing other people is much harder than healing yourself. Try again."

The ranger repeated the process and this time the ache vanished from Matt's body. She grinned as Matt gave her a thumbs-up and sheathed his sword. Her smile faltered some with a sigh.

"What's up?" Lance asked.

Anna shrugged, "Just thinking about how much more practice I need. Two Heals to fix a bruise isn't very good."

"You'll get it," Natalie encouraged. "How do you feel? Drained at all?"

Anna shook her head, "No, I feel fine. This magic is a lot less draining than my usual healing stuff. I suppose that might change, though."

"Yes, the worse the wound, the greater the drain," Natalie agreed.

Lance cocked his head to the side, "You know, I've never thought of this before, but how come you two can use healing magic and I can't?"

The two women looked at each other and laughed. The two men watched them in confusion. They didn't see what was so funny all of the sudden.

Anna chuckled, "It's not that you can't, but more that you don't. If you wanted to, you could learn healing magic. Anyone who can use mana can learn to use it to heal, actually."

Natalie nodded, "We can teach you too, if you want." She cast a glance over at Matt and added, "Same for you, Matt. Anna has a head start because she already knows the basics of spell casting and healing, but you both could learn; if you want."

Matt frowned skeptically, "I dunno, I have next to no experience with any kind of spells and my mana control sucks. Lance could probably learn, but I doubt I'd manage it."

"What about your Temper spell?" Lance reminded him. "I say we both learn. It can't hurt to at least try, anyway, and it would be really beneficial if everyone knew how to heal, even if only on themselves."

The swordsman still looked unconvinced, but he shrugged, "Fine, why not? I still don't think I'll be able to do it, but I'll try. Not until we break for camp, though. This is a really bad place for an impromptu healing lecture."

The others nodded their agreement. They kept hiking and fighting monsters. All was going well until they ran into a pair of Mage Birds and a Wind Elemental. The birds promptly drained Natalie of her mana and she staggered backwards into Anna with a groan. The ranger caught her and lowered her to sit on the ground. Lance loaded two bullets into his gunblade and shot down the two birds while Matt lunged at the wind elemental. That was where the situation went sour.

The elemental caught Matt in a point-blank cyclone spell and blasted him up into the sky. The swordsman let out a shout of surprise that cut off abruptly as he slammed into the cliff far above their heads, cracking the stone. Natalie screamed and jumped up as he began to slide down, rapidly gaining speed. Lance whirled to see what was happening, but his attention was forced back to the fight as the elemental let out a screeching cry.

Anna sprang to her feet and tuned out the sound around her. In one smooth, calculated motion, she nocked a single arrow and pulled it back to full draw. Her eyes tracked Matt's slide. There was a hissing-thwack and her arrow shot through the air. Anna held her breath as she watched her arrow fly sending a silent prayer to whatever gods might be listening that it would stick. She released it with a slump of relief as the arrow slammed into Matt's armor next to his stomach and held him to the stone, halting his slide.

Natalie's jaw dropped as she stared at the results of an impossible shot. Another arrow flew off and pinned down the other side of Matt's armor to be safe. Then Anna turned her attention to the elemental Lance was slowly whittling down. She launched a Spark Arrow into the monster's chest just as Lance swung his rifle around to bear and unleashed a Plasma Shot. The combined electricity killed the elemental and Anna slumped to the ground with one hand over her pounding heart.

Lance spun around and stared at Natalie, wondering why she had screamed earlier. He frowned as he saw her craning her head back to stare up the cliff. Anna moved to join her and shaded her eyes with one hand. Lance tilted his head back and his eyes widened at the sight of an unconscious Matt far over their heads.

"How the Hell are we going to get him down?" the gunner said.

Natalie slumped, "I don't know. Right now I'm still getting over the fact that we'll be getting him down instead of him falling down."

Lance frowned, "Good point. How's he staying up there?"

"Anna pulled an insane couple of shots, that's how," Natalie said with awe clear in her voice.

The ranger shrugged, "I'm a good shot. Frankly, I'm stunned the arrows stuck. I was sure they'd shatter against the stone. Getting him down will be a problem, though." She chewed on her lower lip as she puzzled the problem out. Finally she nodded, "How about this: I can climb up there-"

"No," Lance said flatly. "You're not strong enough to get him down on your back."

Anna shot him a glare, "If you would let me finish, I was going to say we can get him down with a rope. There's a perfect place just to his right that I can do that from."

Natalie started and stared up the cliff, "What? Where?"

"That tree sticking out right there," Anna said, pointing up at it. "I can use it to force a log out of the cliff to stand on and another to loop the rope over."

Lance rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "That could work. Okay, we'll try it. Be quick, but careful. We need to get him down before he wakes up, panics and knocks himself down. That doesn't mean rush, though."

Anna nodded and slipped her bow into her Adventure Pouch. She took a deep breath and stepped up to the cliff side. She looked up the side and gulped. She was a good climber, but Matt was several dozens of feet over her head up a sheer cliff with only hard stone to catch her if she fell. The ranger glanced back at Natalie's white face and her resolve firmed. She was the only one who could feasibly climb the cliff, and she couldn't leave Matt up there. With a nod, she tied her hair back. She reached up and grabbed hold of the first hand hold, tested it, and hauled herself up.

Natalie and Lance nervously watched as Anna slowly worked her way higher and higher. The ranger was surprisingly quick as she pulled herself up the cliff. Her motions were methodical and confident. She never took more than one hand or foot away at a time, and if there were no handholds overhead, she sidled her way along the wall until there was one. There was a heart-stopping moment when one of Anna's foot holds crumbled beneath her and rocks came showering down. She hung by her fingers while her feet scrabbled for purchase. Finally she found a narrow crack and stuck the tip of her foot in it sideways. She kept climbing. Natalie covered her face.

"Tell me when she's there," she moaned.

"Will do," Lance said in a tense voice

He wished he had never agreed to let her go up. Lance swallowed as she hit what he judged to be about a hundred feet off the ground. Matt was a little further over her head, though. Finally, she came level with the tree she'd pointed out and a log suddenly thrust out of the wall. Anna carefully pulled herself onto it and Lance heaved a sigh of relief.

"She's on a log next to him, now," he told Natalie.

Natalie peeked between her fingers and gave a wan smile. "Jeez, I'm not even up there and I feel dizzy."

Anna's thoughts were similar as she sat there on the log, catching her breath for a few moments. She had avoided looking down while she climbed, but now that she was on the log she chanced a peek. Far below her, Lance and Natalie were tiny figures. It was a very disorienting experience and she tore her eyes away. The wind whipped about her, tossing her hair, and trying to blow her down. She raised a hand and swiped away some of the sweat gathered on her face with a trembling arm.

Finally, she dug into her Adventure Pouch and pulled out three lengths of rope. Rapidly, she knotted them together to form one giant rope. She tested each knot to be sure they'd hold firm then forced another few logs out of the cliff under Matt. The crunching sound woke the swordsman with a groan and began to shift.

"Don't you dare move a muscle, Matt," Anna warned sharply.

Matt, to her relief, froze instantly. He swallowed and asked, "Can I ask why?"

Anna deftly balanced across the logs she had formed in the cliff. Anna quickly looped the rope around the log over Matt's head as she responded, "Because we are over a hundred feet in the air, right now. And I swear to Godcat, if you fall now, right when I made it up here, I'm going to learn necromancy to bring you back just so I can kill you."

"Ah, that's a good reason not to move," Matt weakly agreed.

"Exactly," Anna said. "Now, I put some logs beneath your feet; balance on those so I can pull the arrows holding you up out."

"Got it," Matt said. He felt the logs beneath him and firmed his balance on them. "Ready," he said.

Anna nodded and snapped the two arrows holding Matt's armor in place. She carefully pulled the armor loose from the shafts. She moved around Matt and checked everything to make sure all knots were secure. Finally she gave a firm nod.

"As good as I can do," she told him, "Ready to go down?"

Matt nodded, "Yup, how're we doing this?"

"You're going to use this line to walk down the cliff. Watch out for where I tied the ropes together," Anna told him. Suddenly she frowned, "Oh, hang on a second. You slammed into the stone pretty hard, do you need healing before you go?"

The mention of his impact reminded Matt that his back was aching. He grinned sheepishly, "Now that you mention it, yes. I'm having bad luck with wind and cliffs today, huh?"

Anna chuckled, "True. Let me use refresh on you and then you can get started on your way down."

The ranger pulled out her flute and played the healing magic. She felt a heavy drain on her mana and cut the magic off as soon as Matt was healed. She carefully reclined against the cliff face until her head quit throbbing. She'd been using too much mana recently with the attacks, the logs, and now the healing. Matt looked at her with worry.

"You going to be okay?" he asked. "Lance is going to kill me if you topple off here."

Anna cracked one eye open and shot him a small grin, "I'll be fine. It's already passing. Now, you get started down."

"Are you coming down?" Matt asked in confusion.

Anna rolled her eyes. "No, I thought I'd stay up here and enjoy the wonderful view, maybe practice my yodeling," she said in a sarcastic voice, "Of course I'm coming down. I'll be coming down after you, but I don't want to test the rope with both our weights. Jerk the rope twice when you're down."

Matt nodded, "Okay. See you down there then."

With that, Anna tossed the rope down and Matt stepped off the logs. Slowly, he began to make his way down the wall. As Anna listened to the rope creak, she inwardly hoped the three ropes were long enough. She hadn't mentioned that to Matt, and had no idea what they would do if it wasn't.

To her relief, after a few minutes, she saw the rope jerk once and then a second time. With a sigh, she dug in her adventure pouch for a few pieces of spare cloth. She wrapped them around her hands and fingers, gripped the rope, and grinned. Lance was going to kill her for this.

Anna stepped off the log she was standing on and bounced her way down the cliff, dropping rapidly, carefully letting her hands slide around the knots where the rope was joined.. From far below, she heard shouts from Lance, Matt, and Natalie. She snickered and slowed her speed some to placate them. A few feet from the ground, she let go and dropped into a crouch. She stood up and smiled at her friends. Natalie looked pale, but relieved with her arms around Matt. The swordsman shot her a grin, but his eyes shifted to Lance nervously. The gunner looked livid.

"Do you _like_ giving me a heart attack?" he hissed.

Anna grinned, "Only sometimes."

She flinched back as Lance stormed forwards. To her relief, he merely pulled her into a tight hug and let out a shuddering breath.

"I am so sick of sending you into dangerous situations," he mumbled. "You're going to get hurt one of these times, I just know it."

Matt and Natalie flinched and exchanged guilty glances.

"Thanks for saving me, Anna," Matt mumbled.

Natalie nodded, "Yes, thank you."

Anna pulled back from Lance. "You're making our friends feel guilty," she scolded. "I'm fine, so let it go. Matt needed the save, and I'm the best climber. Besides, you can't know that I'll get hurt. If it makes you feel better, you can perform the daring rescue next time."

Lance slumped and let out a heavy sigh. "I'd like to avoid needs for daring rescues," he muttered. Still he shook it off and stood straight. "Are we just going to leave the rope here?"

"Nah, I'll shoot it down," Anna said with a shrug. "We'll lose a foot or two, but that's not too bad."

With that, she pulled her Black Widow bow out and did just that. The arrow sailed through the air and with a slithering thump, the rope coiled on the ground in front of them. Matt moved forwards and coiled it up. He tucked it away in his adventure pouch and turned to the others.

"Should we think about finding a place to sleep soon?" he asked with a gesture at the sky.

Lance tilted his head back and frowned at the sun getting low in the sky, "Might as well, I guess. There are probably a lot of caves around here we can sleep in. Plus Anna and Natalie need to regain their mana. It's probably going to be cold."

Anna let out a sigh, "No good wood for fires, either. Oh, well."

She led the way along the cliff, eyes fixed along the wall for any signs of a suitable place to sleep. They walked in silence for a while until finally coming to a hollow in the cliff, shielded by a large outcropping of stone. Matt glanced around and nodded.

"It's as good as any place, I guess," he said. "Who's first on watch?"

Natalie placed a hand over her heart in faux surprise, "Did anyone else hear that? He remembered the watch! I think this event calls for a celebration." She grinned as Matt shot her a sour look while Lance and Anna started laughing.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Matt grumbled. He flopped to sit against the back wall and pulled out a bag of chips.

Lance smirked at the disgruntled mutters Matt made. "I can take first watch again, who wants next?"

Anna shrugged, "I can take over next, I guess."

"I'll go after Anna," Natalie volunteered, "which leaves Matt as the last person."

Matt grinned, "Sweet, I get to sleep the longest. What do we have for dinner tonight?"

Anna pulled out an assortment of dried meat out and a package of biscuits. They sat there in silence, eating and listening to the wind outside the cave. With a sigh, Anna lit her crystal necklace and pulled out the rolls of paper she hadn't finished translating yet. She spread them out on the floor with rocks to weigh down the corners. Matt, Lance, and Natalie sat up straight and watched her trace a finger over the text, mouthing to herself as she arranged the sheets in order. Finally, Matt spoke up.

"So what do they say?" he asked quietly.

Anna glanced up, "I'm not done yet, but from what I've read so far, it's basically a detailed description of how the primordial was sealed. It gives the components they used, how the seals were set, and most importantly: weaknesses in the magic." She nodded grimly as the other three started and stared at her with wide eyes.

"So he wasn't just completely bonkers in kidnapping me?" Natalie asked in a small voice.

Anna shook her head slightly with a frown, "No, he wasn't. His theory is completely sound, which is more of a problem than if he were just a nut with an assassin cult."

Lance nodded, "True, it means he's insane, but clear-headed."

"Exactly," Anna said with a nod. She turned her eyes back to the rubbings and frowned, "The weirdest part is why he chose that method, though. Sure, a virgin sacrifice on the new moon, especially one who's strong in magic, would do it, but…" she trailed off and shook her head.

Matt shot her a stern look, "What, Anna?"

The ranger glanced up with a dark look in her eyes, "It's completely unnecessary. According to this page here," she reached out and tapped one of the rolls, "the entire seal can be undone with any blood as long as the jewels are also used in close proximity to the seal."

Lance's jaw dropped, "So you mean he could quite literally release the Primordial at _any_ time?"

"Yes," Anna said quietly, "Which is why it's weird. Why bother wasting time with sacrificing people if he could let the god loose at any time? It doesn't make sense."

"Sam said he was obsessing over the tablet he got the rubbings from," Lance mused, "Maybe he can't translate the writing well enough?"

Matt shook his head, "There's a more obvious reason, at least for the first three. He needed the Jewels to begin with, and used sacrifices to get them. I don't know about the rest, though."

"That's true, I guess," Anna hesitantly agreed. "Let me finish translating, maybe there's something at the end that explains why he'd keep using them." With that she turned her attention back to the last couple of rolls of paper.

Lance watched her for a moment before turning to Natalie. The mage was pale-faced, and had shrunk closer to Matt. He frowned and decided she needed a distraction. "Hey, Natz, want to start the healing lessons while Anna's working?" he suggested.

To his relief, the mage sat up straight, and nodded. Matt let out a quiet groan, but turned to listen to her as she began talking. Her explanation of healing magic was much more complicated than it had been for Anna, who had already learned the basics. She delved into mana manipulation that Lance nodded his understanding to, but Matt looked completely baffled about. Anna, who was half listening, occasionally piped up with tidbits to help explain. Finally, Natalie handed Matt's necklace back to him.

"I doubt either of you will be able to heal anything yet, but getting the feel for it is important," she said as she watched them close their eyes to start focusing.

There were a few minutes of silence before Lance let out a small hum. "I can feel a bit of a tingle," he said.

Natalie beamed, "That's good. The hard part is getting that tingle to do what you want. The mana has to be carefully woven to heal a wound."

Matt growled, "I don't feel anything."

"Calm down. Healing isn't an aggressive skill, and it won't come if you're frustrated," Natalie chided.

"Then how come you can do it in the middle of battle?" Matt asked huffily.

Natalie arched a brow at him, "Maybe I should clarify that it's easier to heal if you're calm. I've been healing for years and in high-stress situations. That's how come I can do it easily and well: lots and lots of practice."

Matt sighed and opened his eyes, "It probably helps that you're smarter. I doubt I'll ever get this healing thing right; I'm too dumb."

"You aren't dumb, Matt," Natalie gently corrected, "Oblivious and impatient, yes, but not dumb. Your real problem here is that healing doesn't interest you, so you don't see the need to learn it. You can learn healing, but it will take time and practice."

Matt huffed, "I'm _not_ a healer; I will never _be_ a healer. I literally run up to things and smack them until they die. I doubt I'll ever become proficient enough to heal breaks or deep gashes."

Lance opened his eyes and fixed the swordsman with a look, "True, but that's no reason as to why you can't learn to heal simple wounds. You've already mastered the sword; now focus on a new skill to learn."

Natalie frowned when Matt gave an aggravated sigh. "I know you can learn this, Matt. You have a lot of mana just sitting there, untapped. Maybe you'll never be as good as I am at healing, but you will be a huge help if someone gets seriously injured," she said quietly. She shook her head when Matt opened his mouth to protest, "Think of it this way: small wounds add up. If you have a bunch of leaking cuts, eventually you will run out of blood and die. If you can close off the smaller wounds, that gives you a greater chance of survival until someone finds you and can help."

Anna spoke up from where she was watching the argument, "Remember when Natz got hit by that smelly plant in Lankyroot? It was a near thing because we needed to deal with poison and all of the bleeding wounds. If there had been another healer around, that situation would have been far easier to deal with."

Matt's face paled at the mention of the near death experience. Still he looked unconvinced that he could learn enough to help. Lance grunted.

"Look, even if you never manage to heal other people, you can at least try to learn to heal yourself," he said in a flat voice.

"Please?" Natalie asked quietly.

Finally, Matt nodded, "You all are right. I'll do my best." He shut his eyes again and started concentrating.

Natalie smiled at him and shot the other two grateful looks for their help. Lance shrugged and went back to practicing as well. Anna returned the smile and bent over the last page. There were a few minutes of dedicated silence then Anna let out a soft sound of realization. The others looked over at her.

"I'm willing to bet he doesn't actually know where the Primordial is," Anna told them. "This rubbing doesn't once mention where it's actually sealed. We know it's underground from what we learned in the ruins of Godcat's temple, but that's still really broad. He doesn't need to be at the seal to use blood to strengthen or weaken it."

The others' faces broke out in smiles. They were safe from having to fight the Primordial, at least for a while. Anna's own smile widened as she went on.

"Plus, I think I have an idea that might help us," she told them. Her smile faltered for a moment as she said, "It's risky, but could be the power balance we need."

Lance cocked his head with a smirk, " _You're_ saying it's risky? Better brace ourselves, guys." He snickered at the irritated look Anna shot him.

"Anyway, I was thinking we could summon Godcat to help us," Anna said in a level voice.

There was a long moment of stunned silence. Lance's look of amusement dropped away to be replaced with one of shock. Matt and Natalie both stared at the ranger with their jaws dropped. Anna met their looks steadily, waiting for the exclamations of how she was off her rocker. They weren't too long in coming.

"You're insane," Natalie said in a weak voice.

"Insane," Matt echoed.

"A little touched, at least," Lance agreed. "Why do you even think Godcat would want to help?"

"I'm so glad you three have such faith in me and my mental health," Anna said flatly. "I think She will help for a few reasons. One, She hates the Primordial. Two, we earned Her respect. Three She'd help for NoLegs. He's a cat and one of Her most favored children."

Lance slowly nodded. "Okay, so those are some pretty valid points," he admitted, "but they don't guarantee anything. We don't even know how to summon Her, anyway."

"No, but NoLegs would," Natalie mused.

Matt shook his head, "No one is going to complain about how much trouble we had with the evil glowing cats last time? How do we know She won't just smite us for daring to contact Her? We already have one god to stop; I don't think potentially having two to deal with is a good idea."

Anna glanced at him, "Look, we're only four people. Really strong people, but only four people all the same. Cats and humans couldn't beat the Primordial at the height of their civilization. I doubt we'll be able to stop it by ourselves, even if we manage to get all of the weapons."

"Good point," Matt sighed. "Let's call NoLegs in and see what he has to say."

The small cat appeared at Natalie's behest with a bright meow. He tilted his head and sniffed the air. Then he looked around at the four humans and meowed a question. Natalie's jaw dropped and she nodded with a bright grin.

"Are you serious, NoLegs?" she asked excitedly.

"Meow!"

The mage laughed, "That's awesome; yes we'd really, really appreciate that!"

Lance cleared his throat and asked in a dry voice, "Mind filling the non-furry, non-cat whispering creatures in on the exciting thing you've signed us up for?"

Natalie looked over with sparkling eyes, "He knows where the temple is!"

Matt's jaw dropped, "What the hell, really?"

"Meow, meow. Meow," NoLegs said with a nod.

"He says it's an old cat stronghold where they keep a powerful bow from a long-past battle," Natalie translated. She nodded as the cat meowed a few more times, "Apparently, only cats and cat-kin can find and enter it. Luckily, we fit the bill since Godcat recognized us and NoLegs is our friend."

"Wow, talk about a stroke of luck for us," Anna said with a relieved voice. "Thanks NoLegs, we need that bow to fight the Primordial."

"Meow?! Meow, meow!"

Natalie translated again, "He can't believe we know about the Primordial. He says we're welcome to the weapon since we're going to tackle the god."

Anna nodded, "Good to know. The real reason we called you here, though, is because we need to summon Godcat to ask Her to help us. Do you think She would agree, and if so how do we go about summoning Her?"

NoLegs hesitated for a long moment then nodded and meowed a few times. Natalie listened intently and turned to the others.

"He says he _thinks_ Godcat will be willing to aid us, but he isn't sure of that," she told them. "She was definitely impressed with our abilities and persistence, but it's also true that we're still, in Her eyes, the inferior race. The plus side is that he thinks that if She doesn't want to help, She'll just ignore us, not come smite us."

Lance released a sigh, "That's good, I guess. So what about the ritual, furball?"

"Meow, meow, meow. Meow. Meow, meow," NoLegs said.

"First, we need the Jewels, obviously," Natalie translated. "Then, we just focus our thoughts on Godcat. Throwing in some begging will help our case."

"I hate begging," Matt muttered. "Still, I guess if it wins us some divine intervention, I can manage it. Let's get some rest now, go for the temple tomorrow, get the last weapon after, and then worry about getting the Jewels from Origin."

Anna nodded and dug through her Adventure Pouch, "Sounds good. Here, I got us some new bedrolls. Mine got stained and I figured maybe you guys would want some, too. They're much warmer than regular blankets."

The others grinned and accepted their new bedrolls. Lance moved to sit by the entrance, just inside the cave. He watched the others settle down then turned his gaze to keeping watch. Everyone felt a sense of relief with the sudden influx of new knowledge and plans. They would rest up tonight, and continue the fight tomorrow.


	16. Chapter 16

Matt was gently shaken awake by Natalie for his turn at the watch. He sat up with a groan and a yawn to see the mage sitting next to him with NoLegs at her side. She had asked the cat to keep watch with her so she wouldn't panic at everything. The swordsman heaved himself to his feet and moved to sit by the entrance.

Natalie watched him settle down, but didn't climb into her bedroll. She hesitated as she looked down at the soft and warm fabric. Finally, she shook her head and looked back at Matt. She didn't want to go to sleep yet. She wasn't tired, and on top of that, she was afraid of having more nightmares. On top of _that,_ Matt was wearing the crystal necklace now, as she had her staves back. She didn't want to lose control and hurt him by accident again.

"Can I stay up with you, Matt?" she asked in a soft and hesitant voice.

The swordsman started and looked around in surprise. He'd been sure she was going to sleep. His brow furrowed as he took in the nervous and uncertain look in her eyes, and had a fairly good idea of why she asked. He nodded with a small smile, "Of course you can, Natz. C'mere."

Natalie's face broke out in a relieved smile as she and NoLegs moved back to the entrance of the cave and settled down beside Matt. The mage leaned against his side and felt NoLegs bounce into her lap and start purring. Matt carefully, and slowly, wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his side for warmth and comfort. To his relief, Natalie didn't tense or start.

They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Matt quietly asked, "Is everything okay?"

"As okay as they can be, right now," Natalie responded just as softly. "I'm just not tired yet, and I don't want to risk another nightmare, anyway."

Matt shot her a disapproving look, "You can't skip out on sleeping, Natz."

She blew out a long sigh, "I know, but I'm seriously just not tired yet." She hesitated then tensed slightly and asked in a small voice, "Am I bugging you?"

"Of course not," Matt said instantly, "I just don't want you to be exhausted is all. I love having you around, you know that."

Natalie relaxed again and murmured, "That's true. Sorry for doubting it."

Matt shook his head and watched as she raised one hand to pet NoLegs' back. He grinned as after just a few pets, the cat went limp and fell asleep. Natalie let out a yawn as she was lulled by the warmth and comfort of Matt. The swordsman smiled and rubbed his hand against where it rested on her leg, earning him a soft sigh of content.

"Think you're ready to sleep now?" he asked softly.

Natalie nodded, and tucked her head against his shoulder. "Yeah, I think I'm going to stay right here, though," she said. She sighed and mumbled, "You're warm and comfy. Plus I feel safe."

Matt pressed a kiss to the top of her head and whispered, "Then you can stay right there. Goodnight, Natz, sweet dreams."

The swordsman turned his head back to keeping watch as Natalie slumped against him. It was a huge relief to know he was still a source of comfort for her. He'd been worried that she would pull away from any and all males after what she had suffered through. But it looked like she was fine around him as long as there were no unexpected movements. Natalie shifted against him and mumbled in her sleep with a faint smile. Matt glanced down at her briefly to make sure she wasn't having a nightmare before moving his gaze back outside.

When the night remained silent for a long time, and the sky fell into the darkness before dawn, Matt brought his free hand up to the crystal pendant around his neck. His eyes set with determination and he began focusing on finding the healing tingle Lance had. To his amazement, he found it almost immediately. He gave a soft huff of surprise and excitement and grinned. His mind went back to the lessons Natalie had given them. He nodded to himself and began trying to do the next step.

Matt focused on weaving the mana in with his own, to see if he could. To his confusion, it seemed to hum just beneath his skin. The feeling was familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on where he had felt it before. It wasn't a dangerous feeling, but it was frustrating because he couldn't place what it was. Finally, he let the mana go and frowned when the humming sensation stayed there. He settled back to see if it would go away on its own before waking someone to help. To his relief, after fifteen minutes or so, the feeling faded.

With a sigh of relief, he decided that was enough self-experimentation and glanced across his sleeping friends. They remained undisturbed and he turned his gaze back outside. The sun rose a few hours later, and Matt gently shook Natalie awake. The mage started and tensed, but relaxed again almost immediately. She blinked up at Matt with a sleepy expression before looking past him to see the daylight. Matt pushed the small pang he felt at her initial fear back down and smiled.

"Morning, ready for some more hiking?" he asked.

Natalie sighed, "Does it matter if I'm ready or not? We have to do it either way."

Matt laughed, "True, I guess."

NoLegs woke up at the sound of their voices and bounced off of the mage's lap. Matt pulled his arm from her waist and moved to shake Lance awake. The gunner sat up with a yawn and woke Anna. They ate a cold breakfast of fruit, bread, and dried meat. NoLegs sat by the cave entrance, waiting for them to finish. He had gulped down his share of breakfast even faster than Matt, and looked eager to get moving. Finally, they followed him out of the cave.

NoLegs started leading immediately. He confidently took turns and trails, winding them further and further into the mountains. Lance muttered that he hoped they could get back out again. Natalie responded that NoLegs could get them out. The cat mewed an agreement and stopped beside a cave set in the wall one a wide stretch of the trail. A cliff dropped off on the far side with a river roaring far below. NoLegs looked up at the others expectantly and meowed a few times. Natalie nodded and turned to the others.

"He says this cave will lead us to the stronghold. It's a straight path through, and the place should be abandoned," she told them.

Anna frowned, "We heard there's a guardian for the ruins. Is there not one after all?"

NoLegs meowed a few more times and Natalie translated again, "He says at one point, there was a pair of massive stone cats that guarded the entrance, but they were destroyed a long time ago. Most people can't even spot this cave, and no one who is not a cat or cat-kin can enter it."

Lance grunted, "Good, the less trouble the better. How does he know all this?"

The cat gave a superior meow and puffed his chest out before vanishing from sight. Natalie laughed and said, "He said, 'wouldn't you like to know?' He'll be back to guide us out of the mountains when we're done here."

The gunner grumbled under his breath about stupid furballs and stepped into the cave. Anna followed behind him and they vanished from sight. Natalie stepped up to the cave next, but frowned when she realized Matt was hesitating. The swordsman had an uneasy look on his face as he stared at the dark entrance. Natalie stepped back out again and touched his arm. Her frown deepened when he started at her touch and shot her a sheepish grin.

"You okay?" Natalie asked quietly.

Matt glanced at the cave again and nodded, "Yes, just… got a little lost in thought, is all. You ready to go?"

The mage eyed him for a long moment, knowing something about the cave bothered him. She hesitantly nodded and grasped his hand before stepping inside. Natalie, who was wearing Matt's necklace again, lit the cave up with a blue glow. Matt's hand tightened on hers, but he said nothing. Natalie had no idea what to think of his behavior. He seemed almost afraid of the cave, but she couldn't think of why that would be. He'd never had any problems in the Crystal Caverns, after all. Suddenly she froze and shot a look over her shoulder at him as a thought occurred to her.

"Hey, it's going to be fine," she whispered. "Origin can't get in here, right? There won't be any surprise ambushes."

Matt tensed at having been found out. He let out a strained laugh, "I can never hide anything from you for long, can I?"

Natalie gave a soft laugh, "Of course not. I know you too well."

Matt squeezed her hand and moved to walk beside her. "You seem to be recovering well, so far," he commented as they kept walking. He could hear Lance and Anna talking up ahead.

The mage nodded, "It's easier when I'm surrounded by my friends with something else to focus on. Some nice sleep helped, too."

Matt grinned down at her, "Good. Oh, I did some more practice with the healing magic while on watch."

Natalie looked surprised, "Really? Better not tell Lance that, he'll either get jealous that you're more dedicated than he is, or accuse you of splitting your attention. I'm glad you want to learn, though. How'd it go?"

"I got the tingle Lance mentioned," Matt said with a smile. His smile faded some as he added, "I tried weaving it back into my own mana like you said, but I got a weird… humming sensation."

"Humming? Did you actually have a wound to heal?" Natalie asked with a puzzled frown. "Actually, wait, not having a target wouldn't cause a humming sensation."

Matt shrugged, "It felt familiar, but I can't figure out where I felt it before."

Natalie tilted her head in thought as they stepped out of the cave. Lance and Anna were waiting on the just outside and frowned at the contemplative looks on their friends faces. Before they could say anything, though, Natalie's eyes widened in realization. She tugged the crystal pendant off and passed it to Matt.

"I think I know what you did," she said excitedly. "Try it again."

Lance arched a brow, "Has he figured out healing already?"

Natalie shot him a look, "Something a little better, actually, I think. I need to see it to be sure, though."

Matt shrugged and pulled the crystal pendant on. He shut his eyes and focused on the healing mana. He was pleased to discover it was much easier to find and weave this time. Soon, he felt the humming again and opened his eyes. Anna and Lance looked confused, but Natalie's eyes brightened.

"Holy Godcat, Matt," the mage breathed, staring at him.

Anna cocked her head, "What'd he do? I can't see anything."

Natalie beamed, "It isn't something you can see without a lot of practice with magic. His mana is working constantly to heal him!"

Lance's jaw dropped, "What? Really? He's regenerating right now?"

Matt eyes widened, "That's what it is! It's the same feeling as that regeneration spell that one healer hit me with forever ago!"

"How long does it last for?" Anna asked with an interested gleam in her eyes.

"It was about fifteen minutes last night," the swordsman replied. He grinned, "Sweet, this means I can lop away at enemies with no worries in battle!"

Lance smirked, "Good job, Matt. All I can do is heal little cuts so far."

The swordsman grinned, and turned his attention to the old building ahead of them. His eyes widened at the size of the structure. It was only one floor, but it sprawled across half of the box canyon it sat in. The walls were made of wooden posts and white stone of some sort that had somehow withstood the tests of time without crumbling. The roof sloped gently and was covered with gray shingles. There was a long walkway of stone, lined with stone lanterns, and leading to the covered veranda. Clumps of grass and other plants grew between the stones. Two large piles of moss-covered, carved stone sat on either side of the walkway, the remains of the stone guardians.

Matt whistled, "Nice place."

Anna nodded, "Yeah, it looks more like a mansion of some sort than a stronghold."

"Maybe it was?" Natalie wondered. "It's always possible it was a retreat for some really important cat. Or maybe a really important human, depending on when it was built."

Lance shrugged, "Tough to say. The furball could probably tell us, given is apparent hive mind of all cat knowledge."

Matt snorted as he walked forwards, "Is that the standing theory, now?"

"Lance seems to think so, at least," Anna chuckled.

The gunner smirked, "I'm open to different ideas, if you have them."

They were halfway down the path to the entrance when they heard a series of very familiar and very unwelcome roars. Matt spun around, drawing Heaven's Gate through the motion. Lance followed his example, drawing his gunblade and scanning for the threat. Anna and Natalie both readied their weapons and prepared themselves for the coming battle.

Five dragons dropped out of the sky to land before the party's stunned eyes with five thundering crashes. There was one of each variety. A Blue Dragon cracked its beaked jaw to let out an echoing screech. A Red Dragon hissed on the right side of the Blue, its red eyes glaring at the four humans. A Black Dragon roared its own challenge from the Blue Dragon's other side, all four of its red eyes narrowed to slits. Beside the Black Dragon stood a Brown Dragon, its snout low to the ground, lips pulled back to reveal rows of dripping fangs. Behind the other four dragons settled a Gold Dragon, scales glinting in the morning sun.

The dragons crouched there, threatening, but unmoving for the moment. They waited for an aggressive move from one of the four humans before them. It was clear, however, that though the dragons stood on the same side, they were not allies. Periodically, one would snap threateningly at another, but they never outright attacked each other. For the moment, they had a truce to kill the trespassers.

Anna's jaw dropped, "What the heck? Didn't we agree to never fight three dragons at once? Five is overkill!"

"I think they missed the memo," Natalie said flatly.

Matt gave a weak grin, "That or they decided five is not three. You should have been more specific, Anna."

"Later, guys," Lance snapped. "Matt, switch to Equilibrium right now; we're going to need as much fire power as possible. That Gold one needs to go first before it can start healing the others. After that, try to go for the Brown one, if at all possible; it will have the most advantage, given our terrain. We'll see how things are going from there. Good luck, guys."

"If we need fire power, then shouldn't you call down one of your Ion Laser blasts?" Natalie asked as Matt swapped his Heaven's Gate for Equilibrium.

Lance hesitated and shrugged, "I will, if we really need it, but I'd like to avoid that. I don't know how stable the ground is here, and I'd really rather not find out by it falling out from under us."

"Good point," Natalie said with a nod, her eyes on the dragons, as they shifted impatiently.

The mage opened up with a powerful Pulse spell on the Gold Dragon. The dark magic engulfed the beast's head and it let out a roar of pained fury. The magic dissipated to reveal the dragon was still alive, but had suffered heavy magic damage. The other dragons lunged forwards in a fury, snapping, and snarling. They blasted elemental attacks at the party, and let out aggravated roars as Natalie threw a powerful barrier up to deflect them.

Anna rolled up from where she had dove under a stream of fire and snapped of a Combo Shot from her Black Widow bow at the Gold Dragon. The three arrows streaked towards the dragon, but a lucky writhe made two of them miss. Anna cursed and flipped out of the way of a blast of ice. She caught a glimpse of Lance firing a Dark Shot at the Gold Dragon, but didn't see whether it was successful as she sprang over a spire of rocks from the Brown Dragon. She heard a death rattle, however, and figured Lance must have been successful in his attack.

Matt lunged at the Brown Dragon with Equilibrium raised high. Shards of stone blasted past him, nicking his body. The regeneration he still had going rapidly healed the small cuts, and he brought his weapon down across the dragon's maw. The blade tore through the beast's muzzle, and it jerked back with a shriek of pain. Red blood splattered across the stone and dirt ground. The swordsman leapt back as the dragon's neck arched and it lunged forwards with the speed of a striking viper, blood streaming from its jagged wound. He dodged the bite successfully, but found himself in the center of a blast of darkness.

Natalie cast a powerful Heal spell on Matt from where she stood slightly further back from the battle. To her relief, the swordsman shot out of the dark magic that had engulfed him. His skin steamed slightly, but he didn't show any signs of weakness as he dashed back in to swipe at his opponent again. The mage turned her eyes to check on the other two and spotted Lance loading six bullets for an Unload attack. Anna had launched a Frost Arrow at the Brown Dragon, freezing it in place for Lance to slam it with all six bullets in rapid succession. Natalie finished the beast off with a concentrated Blizzard on its body.

Lance shouted something, but it couldn't be heard over the sounds of roaring and battle. He scowled and shook his head before launching himself towards the Blue Dragon. A Spark Arrow hissed past him to nail the dragon the neck, but didn't do much more than cause a minor wound. He raised his gunblade and ducked under the dragon's blast of ice. He was about to dig his blade into the beasts neck when the Black Dragon snaked out of nowhere and slammed him to the side. The gunner skidded across the ground and slammed to a stop against one of the stone lanterns. He fell still there, a trickle of blood running down his face.

Anna had turned her attention to the Red Dragon attacking her as soon as she had sent her Spark Arrow on its way. The dragon dove towards her, clearly intending to try and eat her whole. The ranger smiled grimly, threw her bow aside and dug into her Adventure pouch. She leapt to land on the dragon's snout as it crashed against where she had been standing, and dug both her daggers into the creature's scales. She held there grimly as the dragon thrashed and roared, trying to throw her off. Ice began to spread from the blade of the dagger she had pulled out. The other dagger merely dug into the scales, causing blood to stream out. She dragged both daggers down, bracing her feet against the dragon's skull.

The dragon shrieked in pain and rage, and twisted its head sideways it brought its face down on the ground, trying to crush the ranger. Instead, Anna let go of both her daggers and dove off just before impact with the stone. Cracks spread out from where the head crashed down, but the dragon showed no signs of pain. Matt came launching in out from the other side and scored his blade clean across the dragon's throat. Blood gushed out as the dragon collapsed on the stone. It twitched weakly, before falling still. The pair exchanged brief grins before hearing a shout from Natalie.

Matt whipped around to look over at her, but saw the mage pointing desperately across the way. Anna twisted to look and saw Lance collapsed on the ground with the two remaining dragons snarling at each other over his body. Her eyes widened for a moment before narrowing to slits. She pulled out her Sky Feather bow and nocked one arrow. She drew the arrow back as far as it could go as a flickering aura gathered around her body. She let loose the arrow in a Power Blast and watched as it screamed towards the two dragons. The arrow slammed clean through the back of the Blue Dragon's head and through the Black Dragon's open maw.

The Blue Dragon shuddered and stayed up for a moment until its body caught up to the fact that it had been slain. It fell to the side with a crash and lay still. The Black dragon—despite the massive hole in its throat—remained up and glared at the ranger. A column of light engulfed its head from Natalie's Judgement. When the light vanished, the scales and flesh of the monster's head had been disintegrated, leaving a bleached skull attached to a still-flesh-covered neck. Natalie gaped in shock as the dragon shifted its empty eye sockets to glare in her direction.

Matt pushed aside his shock as he watched the jaw of the dragon's skull crack open and a dark energy form in its mouth. He lunged forwards with blinding speed and decapitated the dragon. The giant skull crashed on the ground, and finally, the body followed it. The swordsman remained alert, just in case, but the dragon was truly dead. He lowered his sword and stared at the dead beast. His attention was diverted as Anna raced across the yard to where Lance lay crumpled on the ground.

Natalie followed her and cast a powerful Heal spell on the unconscious gunner. After just a few moments, Lance's eyes snapped open and he jolted upright. Anna tackled him with a hug and he stiffened before relaxing as he realized the battle was over. He heaved a sigh of relief as he looked across the carnage of their fight.

"Not bad at all," he mused as he rubbed Anna's back. "I was sure we'd have more trouble with that many dragons."

Matt nudged the skull of the Black Dragon, "This one was awful. It had a hole blasted through its throat, lost all the flesh on its face, and still kept attacking. What the hell kind of creature lives that kind of damage?"

Natalie shuddered, "I'm not sure it was alive to begin with. Still at least it's dead now. Are you feeling okay, Lance?"

Anna let the gunner stand up and stretch. She kept her eyes worriedly fixed on him to be sure he was all right. Lance shot her a reassuring look before nodding to Natalie.

"I feel perfect. The bastard got a lucky hit in was all," he assured them.

Anna let out a sigh, expelling the leftover tension of the fight. "I'm amending the rule of: _no fighting three dragons at once_ to: _no fighting more than one dragon at a time,_ " she muttered.

Matt grinned, "They still won't listen, you know. Besides, we did really well in that fight; we can definitely handle more than one dragon at a time."

"True," Anna agreed. She moved to tug her daggers out of the dead Fire Dragon and shook the excess blood off before sheathing them. Then, she scooped her Black Widow bow up and turned back to the others. "Shall we go inside now?" she asked with a grin.

The others nodded and followed her to the door of the temple. They puzzled over the door for a moment. It had no knob, and seemed to be made of some kind of paper. Finally, Lance spotted the track it sat on and slid it open. They all stepped inside and found themselves in a long hall. There was no sound, nor any sign of monsters within. Still, they kept their weapons close at hand as they started down the hall. Curious balls of light hovered at regular intervals, and Natalie mused that they must be the light sources for the building. More sliding doors lined each side; some were open to reveal small rooms. Some were empty, but others were filled with piles of junk and wooden cat sculptures. Matt slid a closed door open and glanced inside, but it was the same as all the others.

They rounded a corner to find themselves in a large courtyard, ringed by an overhang. Grass grew tall and thick around a murky pond. Three large stones sat in the center of the water. An old and twisting tree grew over the pond on the far side, bare branches dipping to brush the water. Anna stepped around the water and laid a hand on the tree. The plant was still alive, merely dormant. She stepped back and looked around the courtyard. She imagined that it must have been beautiful once, when it had been properly taken care of.

Lance led the way around the courtyard to a large set of double sliding doors. He pushed one side open and peered inside. Instantly, more balls of light flared to illuminate the room, revealing a wooden altar at the back. The gunner's eyes widened as they fell on a long bow made of metal. The arms were thick, red metal, and the stabilizer was a machete. The bow itself, even without an arrow, was an effective weapon.

Lance waved the others inside and Anna shot past him with an excited grin. She scooped up the weapon and, with the absence of any alarm or trap triggering, turned to the others with the prize. The other three had matching looks of excitement. They had found the third weapon, now they only needed the staff.

"So this is Iron Tooth, huh?" Anna murmured. She tested the draw weight and frowned, "Damn, that's a heavy weight…"

Lance frowned as he asked, "Can you use it?"

The ranger nodded confidently, "Yes, I can. I won't be able to hold it back for as long, though. Let's give it a try out front."

They headed back through the abandoned building with Anna in the lead. The ranger lifted the bow and nocked an arrow. Instantly, she dropped the arrow with a startled gasp. The others crowded forwards to see what the problem was and gaped at the arrow on the ground. What had once been a regular arrow was now more reminiscent of the tip of a machete on an arrow shaft. Matt bent to pick the arrow up and lightly ran one finger across the blade. The razor sharp edge sliced a small cut on his finger that Natalie healed with a wave of her hand.

"I wouldn't want to be hit by that," Matt muttered.

Anna nodded, "Especially with the draw weight of this bow behind it. The extra weight of the arrow means it likely won't go as far, though."

Natalie gestured to the weapon, "Take a shot, Anna."

The ranger grinned and lifted Iron Tooth once more. She nocked an arrow, watched it morph to its new shape and drew it back. She let out a quiet grunt of effort, but got the weapon back to full draw. She loosed the arrow and it slammed into the far wall of the canyon. The party jogged forwards to check where it hit and found it had been buried nearly to the fletching in the wall. Lance gave an impressed whistle.

" _That_ is a powerful bow," he muttered.

Anna nodded with a grin, "I'm going to have to get used to the extra effort needed to draw it, though."

"You can get some practice on the way to the staff," Matt said with a grin. He shot a glance around at the other three, "I'm thinking it might be at the volcano where we fought Akron, what do you guys think?"

Natalie nodded, "I think so, too. The only other volcano around is the one in Ashwood, and it's too new to be the one we're looking for."

Matt grumbled, "Ugh, I hate that place. Those damn Red Slimes and Skull Ghosts are the worst."

Anna cocked her head, "I've never heard of either of those before. What's so bad about them?"

Natalie sighed, "The Red Slimes are completely unaffected by magic, while the Skull Ghosts can't be hit by physical blows. Still, it's possible there won't be any since Akron won't be an influence anymore. It's still a fairly long hike from here, though."

Lance sighed as well, "At least a week of walking. Might as well get started now, I guess."

The four turned and headed for the cave leading away from the box canyon. Still, despite the groans, they were excited that their search for the weapons was nearly over. And with three of them already in their possession, Origin was less of a threat than ever. They broke out of the cave and summoned NoLegs to guide them back down the mountain. The cat looked excited to see they had the weapon and immediately began bouncing a head. They hadn't gone far when a cold voice had all of them freezing.

"I was certain you four had already come and gone from here. Regardless, I will be taking the mage back, now."


	17. Chapter 17

The heroes whipped around at the cold voice, weapons in hand. They saw a hooded man leaning against a boulder not far from them. The man didn't shift at all at the sight of their weapons. Natalie shrank back behind Matt with a small whimper. Matt stepped further in front of her with Equilibrium raised threateningly. Anna lifted her new bow and nocked an arrow loosely on the string. NoLegs hissed at the man and bristled at Natalie's feet. Lance, however, froze with a suddenly pale face. He took a half step back, looking nearly as afraid as Natalie. Dark clouds began to roll in over their heads and a cold wind swept over the two sides, a dark omen of things to come.

"What are you doing here?" Lance asked quietly.

His friends started and shot him looks of confusion and surprise. Their attention snapped back to the hooded man as he pushed away from the rock he was leaning on. He gave a low chuckle and shook his head.

"That's the greeting I get after so many years? I'm disappointed in you, Lance," the man said in amusement. "Besides, I already stated my intentions. I'm here for the mage."

Lance's face was still pale as he hefted his gunblade, "Well then how about get the hell out of here? And you can't have Natalie."

"Who is this guy?" Anna asked. She could see Lance's body trembling. Whoever the man was, Lance clearly knew him, and well enough to fear him.

The gunner's voice was low as he answered her, "He's- his name is Markus…"

Markus finished Lance's sentence as the gunner trailed off, unwilling to say more. "I am Lance's father and mentor," he said in the same cold, amused voice. "I am also currently known as the General to those of Origin."

Anna, Matt, and Natalie each gaped between Lance and Markus. They could tell by Lance's pale face that it was true. His father had tracked them down to capture Natalie again. And his presence was clearly reminding Lance of his awful and abusive childhood. Anna shifted a little closer to Lance in silent support.

The man shook his hood down to reveal dark brown, almost black, hair, and eyes as red as Lance's. His skin was pale and his mouth twisted in a mocking smirk. His eyes glinted coldly as they surveyed the party, clearly scanning their weapons, placement, and potential strengths and weaknesses. It was cruel, calculating, and sharp; reflecting none of the amusement his voice betrayed.

The look was so similar to Lance's when he did the same for the monsters they normally fought that it took Matt, Natalie and, Anna aback. For the swordsman and mage, it also reminded them eerily of when they had first met Lance. The only real difference was that even back then Lance had expressed a certain fierce joy for combat. Markus's gaze seemed far less human.

Lance uneasily edged closer to the rest of the party as his father's eyes swept across him. It was a blatant show of weakness on his part, but he was terrified of the man, and rightfully so. The man had made it his personal goal to shatter his own son to create what he considered to be the perfect warrior. He had taken years and great pains to achieve that goal, working systematically to destroy whatever emotions and morals he could. And though he had ultimately failed, Lance was still scarred from the experience.

Markus' smirk widened at his son's fear, "What have I told you about displaying weakness, boy?"

Lance gulped, but remained silent. Matt shot a glance at his friend before shifting his glare back to Markus. His grip tightened on the hilt of his weapon. Whether Lance was cowering was because of trauma, or because his father was actually dangerous, Matt didn't know. Clearly, however, Markus took a sick pleasure in tormenting Lance, and that made Matt's upper lip curl back in disgust. Still, it effectively removed the gunner from the fight, and with Natalie petrified behind him, that left only Anna as his backup. They would have to make do.

Anna watched Lance out of the corner of her eye. She was worried by the minute shaking that had overtaken him. She came to the same conclusion as Matt: they would have to take Markus down on their own. However, unlike Matt, she could tell that Lance feared his father's present day skills almost as much as the memories of him. That made her slightly nervous. It meant that the man was a deadly foe, and one she wasn't sure they could take down on their own with no help and bad formation.

Markus had trained Lance, honing his skills to the razor-sharp edge the gunner had then turned on the world. And he would have succeeded, if not for Matt and Natalie stopping him. He'd had to learn those skills from someone, and that someone was Markus. Still, they had to try. Even if he was completely unrelated to anyone in their party, he wanted to take Natalie back to Origin to sacrifice. Anna's eyes hardened as she remembered the state her friend had been in upon rescue. No way were they going to let that happen. And even more than that, Markus had done serious damage to Lance, and that was unacceptable.

"That's a far different look than the last time I saw you. I seem to recall far more tears and screaming," Markus commented idly. "Perhaps I should have killed you back then with the rest of the village. It would have saved me much trouble. I suppose I can fix that problem here, though."

Anna froze with her eyes wide. Lance stiffened as well and his red eyes hardened as they shot to glare at his father. The threat against Anna and mention of Greenwood's massacre gave him a more powerful and immediate issue to focus on.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked in a soft and cold tone.

Markus arched a brow, "I'm sure you can guess, but I'll humor you. I was sent to kill her after she had truly been broken by the deaths of her people. I decided her committing suicide would be more poignant against you, so I left her there and reported back that she had moved on. I never dreamed that she would pull herself together enough to slip out of sight for months. You could learn a few things about stealth from her. That, or we can cover it again."

"You sick bastard," Anna hissed as she raised her bow. "Lance isn't going with you."

Before they could move, however, the man's hand shot to his cloak and withdrew a small handgun. He fired two rapid shots. One pinged just past Matt's head, nicking his ear. Natalie shrank closer to him as it tore past her hair. The other slammed into the ground right in front of NoLegs, causing the cat to let out a scared hiss and vanish. Natalie shuddered as she realized that either of those two bullets could have killed two of the party members, had Markus been trying for that. Something about how the man held himself shifted. Before, he'd stood with a lazy sort of slump as he mocked their party. Now, he exuded the deadly grace of a seasoned fighter and hardened killer.

"Well, since you don't seem to be willing to simply turn the mage over, I will have to take her from you, and kill the ranger and swordsman. We can't have them tracking down and rescuing her again, now can we?" Markus said. "She'll break and die this time with no one to save her."

Suddenly, a wave of icy rage overtook the mage. The man before them was a true psychopath. Not only had he done cruel and unimaginable things to his own child, but he worked with Origin. He had been the one behind her own capture and imprisonment. He had been an unknown, but present factor in the massacre of Greenwood. And now he wished to continue those horrible acts. His purposeful exclusion of Lance in his plans meant he had something else in store for the gunner.

But he had miscalculated. In throwing that last comment out, he'd pushed Natalie to the wall. It was the point of breaking for her, and she broke in violent way, but not as Markus had intended. No, he had threatened her and all of her friends, and that gave her a more powerful motive to help her overcome. She no longer felt the fear that had gripped her at the first sight of Markus. She would not let him destroy their party as he clearly planned to do.

Matt felt the swell of mana from behind him, but could tell that it was controlled. A fierce smile spread on his face as Natalie stepped out to stand beside him. Maybe Markus was strong, and maybe he was skilled, but he wouldn't win against all four of them. He saw ice cover the muzzle of Markus' gun and lunged forwards to slash at the man.

His foe's response time was lightning-quick, however. Markus ghosted to the side and dodged the downward slash. He whirled and slammed a kick into Matt's chest, sending him flying back to the others. The swordsman hacked a few coughs out as he regained his air. He staggered to his feet and cast a Holy Sword on Markus, only to have the attack repelled by whatever the material the man's cloak was made out of. Matt cursed under his breath and lunged forwards again, this time with an accompanying arrow from Anna.

Natalie was beginning to feel a niggling concern that they were in over their heads. She cast a lightning spell at Markus as Matt was caught by the arm and thrown to the ground where he rolled away to dodge a stomp. The arrow Anna had fired had been ducked, and the lightning was also dispelled by his cloak. The mage exchanged a nervous look with Lance. They were in bad spot. Their backs were to a cliff wall, Markus was far more skilled than any of them had expected, and his armor was clearly resistant, maybe even immune, to all magic. Even without any weapon anymore, he was winning this fight, and seemed lazy while he did so. Still, they couldn't give up.

Lance loaded two bullets into his gunblade and fired them at his father. Not to his surprise, the man managed to track the paths of the bullets and dodged them with ease. He also contrived during his dodge to slam his palm into Matt's shoulder and kicked him in the stomach, sending Matt skidding back to the rest. Lance waited until Matt was up again before moving forward by his side for a dual attack. Their blades flashed down, but Markus merely flipped out of their reach. Lance's eyes narrowed some at the slight, almost invisible, stagger his father made upon landing. He lunged forwards with his gunblade leveled in a stab.

Markus deflected the attack downward off the butt of his gun and planted one boot to hold the blade tip there. He dropped his gun and slammed his palm into Lance's wrist. At the same time, he grasped the base of the blade with one gloved hand and gave a twist. He flipped the gunblade around to grasp it by the hilt and sent his stunned son a mocking smirk. Matt lunged forward to help his friend. The swordsman halted when in another fast and smooth motion, the general stabbed the gunblade into the stone and caught Lance's still-outstretched arm with both hands.

"Now this brings me back to your lessons when you were nine," Markus mused with a mock-nostalgic sigh. His mouth curved into an evil smirk and said, "How about a refresher, for old time's sake?"

Lance's eyes widened in terror at his father's words and he tried to break free of the iron grasp. With a sharp crack, Lance's arm snapped and he let out a scream that cut off with a choke of pain as his father threw him towards the others by his broken limb. Anna caught the gunner and they fell to the ground. The ranger cradled Lance gently for a few moments as he shuddered and wheezed in pain. She slowly lowered him to the ground and moved to stand.

Now that the general no longer had a hostage, Matt leapt forward with Equilibrium raised overhead, eyes blazing. Twisting to the side, Markus dodged the attack then flipped over the blade as Matt shifted to a sideways slash. He let out a grunt as a shard of ice caught his right shoulder and an arrow whizzed past his left side. Yanking the ice out with a small spurt of blood, he flung it at Matt, forcing the swordsman to block the shard. The General slipped around Matt and leapt forward, slamming his uninjured shoulder into Matt's back, and sent the swordsman tumbling to the edge of the cliff. Natalie raced forward to catch Matt before he fell into the river below. Markus laughed at the pair and turned to where Anna was standing over Lance. He plucked Lance's gunblade from the stone and moved forward.

The ranger fired another arrow at him and swore as he sliced the missile out of the air with the weapon he had stolen from Lance. She dropped her bow and drew her dagger, as the general lunged forwards. In a blindingly fast motion, the General ducked the stab Anna threw, dodging it at the last moment, and caught the ranger's wrist. He yanked her forward and slammed a knee into her gut and an elbow into her throat. Anna had a split second where her eyes widened and the breath rushed out of her before she was flipped to the ground and pinned there.

Markus held her down with his knees before he twisted the arm he still held behind her back. With a pained and choked gasp, the ranger dropped her dagger. She thrashed when the man let go of her arm, only to hiss in pain when he pulled her head up by her hair. Anna froze when the cold, razor edge of Lance's gunblade came to rest at her neck.

Markus tutted her mockingly and said, "None of that now."

Lance's face was pale as he struggled to sit up, his right arm hanging uselessly beside him. "No, don't! Please, please stop," he begged.

His father raised one eyebrow mockingly, "What was the last lesson I taught you?"

Lance's eyes widen in fear. In his mind's eye he saw a brown dog lying limp in a pool of blood. The sound of his teenage-self screaming and his father's disparaging voice echoed in is mind. The gunner's face paled and he began to shake.

The General watched the growing look of distant horror in Lance's eyes with satisfaction. "This is _remarkably_ similar to with that mutt, isn't it? I'll admit I am impressed that you fought back this time, but your skills are truly pathetic, Lance. This is what happens when you have 'friends' to use as a crutch. It's time for some re-education."

Anna listened to the depraved man pinning her down, feeling sick with horror. With her head pulled up, she was forced to watch as tears formed in Lance's eyes. She gave another thrash despite the grip on her hair when Markus lifted the gunblade away from her throat. She had a feeling she knew what was coming next and her heart broke for what she knew it would do to Lance.

"You're insane," Anna cried. She writhed, trying to dislodge the man on her back. The grip on her hair vanished but the weight remained pressing her down. Anna heard the familiar sound of a bullet being loaded into the gunblade, "He's your _son_! How can you do this to him?"

Markus merely let out a dark chuckle. He raised an eyebrow at Lance, who was struggling to his feet. "Best say your last words to her, boy," the General suggested.

Anna felt tears form in her eyes at the look of horrified despair in Lance's eyes. The gunner said nothing, simply choked on a sob as he stared at her. "Lance, don't do anything stupid; you have to kill this guy," Anna desperately pleaded.

"Ah, ah, I didn't ask _you_ for last words," Markus chided and he brought the side of his hand down on a spot just below the ranger's ear. Anna's body stiffened and her eyes slid shut as she slumped still on the ground. The General stood up and cast a look at Lance who had managed to stand, but was frozen, staring at Anna's slack face.

"Nothing to say? Maybe you're already relearning," Markus mused with a sneer. He stepped back and raised Lance's weapon, aiming at Anna's head.

Lance let out a desperate cry as he saw his father's finger tighten on the trigger. A sudden rumble at the General's feet threw him off balance just as he pulled the trigger. There was a crack and the bullet flew wide, slamming into the ground next to Anna's face. The loss of balance coupled with the recoil of the shot sent Markus to the ground and Lance's gunblade spinning from his grasp. The tremor also sent Lance back to the ground with a cry of pain as his broken arm was violently jarred.

Matt's Cataclysm erupted from the stone under Markus' back and flung the man into the air. An ice shard from Natalie slammed into the General's side midair, and blasted him over the side of the cliff. There was an echo of a splash as the man vanished into the river below. The pair ran forward, rushing back to their friends' sides. Matt fell to his knees beside Anna and rolled her over while Natalie raced past to where Lance lay on the ground.

"Lance, stay still, I need to set the bones in your arm before I can heal it," Natalie said as the gunner tried to get up.

Lance didn't seem to hear her and began struggling harder. He needed to get up, get away. Anna was in trouble, maybe already dead. He didn't have the time to stay still as he was healed.

"Matt, get over here and hold him down," Natalie snapped as Lance fought against her attempts to keep him lying still.

Matt was at her side in an instant. After a moment of deliberation, he pressed down on Lance's left shoulder with one hand and held his torso still with the other, his knee pinning the non-broken arm as the gunner jerked. Lance thrashed and kicked so Natalie sat on his legs. She shuddered at the scream he released as she worked to swiftly set the bones in his arm. Matt moved to press his upper arm flat across Lance's torso to hold him still while Natalie cast heal on the gunner.

The light of the healing magic washed over Lance and he felt the pain of his broken arm vanish as well as some of the panic clouding his thoughts. Immediately, he began struggling harder, needing to see Anna and make sure she was okay. Matt waited until Natalie had stood up before releasing his hold on his friend. Lance scrambled to his feet and dashed over to where Anna lay on her back. He fell to his knees beside her still form and heavily swallowed.

"She's alive, just unconscious," Matt assured from behind Lance. He watched Lance gather the ranger up into a tight hug before glancing at Natalie. "Might want to pop a Heal on her, anyway, though; that was a nasty slam she took to the stomach," he suggested.

Natalie nodded and moved forward only to freeze when Lance's head whipped up and he let out a wordless snarl. The gunner pulled Anna tighter against him and glared at the mage with wild eyes, unwilling to let anyone near the unconscious ranger. He shifted back some when Natalie raised her hands in a placating gesture and took another step forward.

The mage stopped with an irritated huff, "Stop being ridiculous, Lance. Do you want Anna to be sore when she wakes up?" She raised her staff when Lance remained still only to lower it again with an aggravated sigh when Lance shifted back again with another snarl. Natalie planted one hand on her hip and tapped her foot impatiently, "Seriously? Quit growling at me; you know I'm not going to hurt her."

Matt judged the wild look in Lance's eyes and said in a quiet tone, "I'm not so sure Lance is all there right now, Natz. Give him a couple of minutes."

"Fine, but only a couple; a hit that hard could have seriously damaged something," Natalie agreed and shifted back a few paces before sitting down.

Lance relaxed as the mage backed off and buried his face in Anna's hair. A few minutes passed in silence and finally the gunner's tense back relaxed a little. Natalie released a sigh of relief before frowning when Lance's shoulder's started to shake. She exchanged sent a concerned glance with Matt who merely shrugged as he watched Lance with a frown.

The pair jumped when Lance suddenly set Anna down and rapidly shuffled backwards a few paces. The gunner pulled his knees to his chest and pressed his forehead against them. Matt moved to place a hand on Lance's shoulder. He gave a concerned frown when the gunner didn't respond at all. Meanwhile, Natalie finally cast a heal spell on Anna, who released an unconscious sigh of relief, but didn't awaken.

"Let's head back to the abandoned temple to rest," Natalie suggested. She gestured to the dark clouds overhead, "I don't want to be out here when those break and start pouring rain on us and the shrine is closer than anything else right now."

Matt nodded and reached down to tug Lance up by the arm. The gunner moved slowly to stand and as his head came up, Matt saw a blank expression on his face. There were no tears, but his eyes held a hollow look. When Lance made no move to pick Anna up, Matt frowned in concern.

"Do you want me to carry her?" he offered in a hesitant tone.

Lance gave a wordless nod. The swordsman's frown deepened, but he moved to lift Anna. Natalie grabbed the ranger's weaponry, tucking the dagger back into its sheath. Lance started walking, leading the way back to the temple where they had found Iron Tooth. The journey was made in silence and just as the party stepped inside the large abandoned building, the skies opened up. Rain came thundering down and hammered on the shingled roof of the temple. Matt and Natalie glanced at the sheets of water before following Lance further inside.

The three headed for the old and dusty rooms they had discovered that morning. Natalie cast a low-powered Airwave spell to blow a cloud of dust out of one room. Matt shifted Anna to lie on the floor before digging into the ranger's Adventure Pouch. He pulled out her bedroll, spread it on the floor and shifted Anna to lie on top of it. The swordsman stood back with a nod.

"Okay, so I guess we'll stay here until Anna's awake and the rain passes," Matt said. He glanced around the small room, "I think two people to a room would be best."

Natalie nodded and glanced at Lance who had yet to say a word. The gunner gave a faint nod and turned to leave. Finally, the mage couldn't take it anymore.

"Damn it, Lance, talk to us," Natalie said, causing the gunner to pause for a moment. She caught Lance's wrist when he shook his head and started walking again. "Where do you think you're going? Anna is right here," the mage snapped.

Matt nodded, "Look, that fight with your father was stressful for all of us, you most of all. I get that you might want some alone time, but I think you need to stay with Anna. She can help you when she wakes up, and she'll worry if you aren't there."

Lance finally spoke in a quiet voice, "Maybe, but I'm leaving and you two can't stop me—not forever, anyway. Anna will be better off if she has no connection to me. So will you guys."

There was a stunned silence before a dull thud sounded. Lance staggered forward and turned to glare at the pair. Matt was gaping at Natalie, who had her staff gripped tightly in hand. Her blue eyes sparked with a kind of disbelieving anger.

"Don't hit me," Lance hissed as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Don't be stupid, then," Natalie shot back just as angrily. She met Lance's glare with one of her own, "I'm as aware of the fact that Markus is probably still alive as you are; people as strong as him are tough to kill. Do you really think that if you just cut off all connections with us, we'll be safe from him?"

With a gesture at Anna's sleeping body, the mage relentlessly swept on, "Besides, weren't you the one who said we need to stop destroying ourselves for Origin? She loves you and she will be crushed if you decide to run off, supposedly for her own protection. In case you forgot: aside from Anna, Greenwood's villagers are all dead. All she has left is us three, and you are the most important one to her. If you leave, you will finish the job Origin started; it _will_ kill her inside."

Lance flinched as if Natalie had struck him again. He glanced down at Anna then back at Natalie. "She would still have you two," he whispered.

Matt arched one eyebrow at that. "She doesn't love us; not like she does you, anyway. Natz is right: if you leave, you will break Anna. The best case is she'll kill herself when she can't find you. We'd look after her, sure, but we can't feasibly watch her all day, every day."

The swordsman made a slicing motion with his hand to silence Lance's inevitable comment that Anna suiciding was not a 'best case.' He met Lance's angry look with a serious and level one of his own, "I know what you're going to say, and believe me when I say that I think that is far better than what she's also likely to do. The worst case scenario is that Anna holds on long enough to finish this quest and—assuming she's still alive at the end—will go on to live an empty and lonely life. I doubt she'll be able to move on after everything that has happened to her. For the rest of her life, she'll mourn the loss of her people and wonder what she did so wrong as to drive her closest person away. She will be crushed under the grief and will blame herself for all of it. Nothing Natz and I tell her will be able to help, if we're there at all. _You_ are who Anna really needs, not us."

"You sound so sure that you have a high chance of losing," Lance muttered.

Natalie snorted, "Your departure would basically be the signing of our death warrant. The Primordial took an army, seven powerful magic objects, and a god just to seal it last time. Together, we are stronger than any army and maybe we will be able to get the Jewels back and summon Godcat to help, but your tactical sense and skill in battle is a large chunk of our strength. So really, once you leave, we're dead; even if your father does leave us alone. And before you suggest we just hide, remember who you are speaking to: Matt and I will keep fighting—regardless of the odds. Also keep in mind that we are all being hunted, and will continue to be until this threat is dealt with."

"So make your decision, Lance, and be sure you are in complete agreeance with it; half-assing this will not work. Constantly having to worry if you're going to vanish on us, and whether it was by your sneaking off or Origin killing you is not a distraction we can deal with. We need you to be completely on board with this; Anna needs it more so," Matt warned. He moved forward, grabbed Natalie's hand, and pulled her past Lance.

The swordsman paused at the door. Without looking back he said, "We'll be in the next clear room down the hall. Let us know when you make a decision; I promise we won't use force to stop you if you decide to leave. I highly suggest speaking with Anna before you make a choice, though."

With that, the couple walked out, leaving the gunner standing in the room, and slid the door shut behind them.


	18. Chapter 18

Lance wavered; looking back at the door his friends had just left through and listened to their footsteps head down the hall. He turned and looked to where Anna was lying on the floor. With a heavy sigh that was almost a sob, he slumped in place before moving to sit next to the ranger. The gunner stared at her face until tears blurred his vision. He scrubbed his face with his hands before reaching out to grasp one of Anna's warm hands in his own.

For an hour, Lance sat there, thinking and waiting for Anna to wake up. He went over everything that had happened in their battle that day and pulled up everything he knew of how his father thought and reacted, trying to determine if the others would be safer or not without him here. Taking that information, Lance weighed it against what Matt and Natalie had said.

On the one hand, his father was insane and very likely to try and kill all of his friends one by one until either everyone was dead or Lance left to save any survivors. The man would probably succeed in killing them, too; in the most painful, psychotic ways possible. It had only taken one meeting to discern that Anna was the closest person to Lance, and the gunner knew his father had likely picked up a dozen other things to try. Lance knew very well what the man was capable of, having learned from him for years as well as from first-hand experience. However, his father was not big on wasting effort on pointless things, and murdering people he saw as insignificant, aside from the fact that they were Lance's teammates, fell under the ' _pointless things_ ' category. Lance doubted the man would try anything against the others if he left the party.

On the other hand, Matt and Natalie were probably right about their chances of victory if he left. The Primordial had taken an overwhelming amount of force and effort to seal the first time. And while they only had one weapon left to retrieve, their chances of success which would be greatly diminished if he left as they would be short one of the weapons. And there was no guarantee that Godcat would even answer their call if they used the Jewels; they didn't even know if the goddess had any connection to the objects anymore.

Lance knew that Matt was also right that if he chose to stay, it needed to be a definite decision. Their attention would be constantly divided as they tried to keep an eye out for enemies and at the same time make sure he wasn't going to run off. His shoulders slumped and he released a sigh. He could leave and that would likely spare the others from his father, but meant their death against the primordial. Or, he could stay and possibly save them from dying against the Primordial, but ensure his insane father would attempt to kill them. It seemed like a lose-lose situation to him.

And then there where the things his friends had said about what his departure would do to Anna. He wasn't so sure about whether they were right about that. Anna had been very stable since they had joined up with her again; plus, she was very close to the other two as well. Lance figured that she would probably move on from him eventually. And though the thought of her with someone else caused a flare of jealousy and possessiveness to rise within him, it would be worth it if it meant she would be alive.

But what if Anna's strength really did primarily come from the fact that he was still here? Matt and Natalie seemed so sure that they would be unable to help her recover. They were positive misery, loneliness, and pain were what would consume Anna if he were gone, if she didn't just kill herself right away.

Lance focused on Anna's peaceful, sleeping face again. He felt his heart clench as he imagined it twisted with miserable self-hatred and shadowed with loss. Could he really risk doing that to her, even if staying meant risking his insane father killing her? He still hadn't reached a firm decision when his thoughts were derailed entirely by Anna's hand curling around his own.

The ranger's eyes flickered open to blink at the wooden ceiling that was illuminated by one of the balls of light found throughout the entire temple. She turned her head to the side and looked up at Lance. Tears of relief filled her eyes and the gunner suddenly found himself with Anna in his lap and her arms wrapped around his neck. Tears dripped to land on his shoulder, soaking the fabric of his shirt. The ranger's body trembled, but Lance didn't move to return the embrace.

Anna pulled back and gave him with a look of teary concern. "Are you okay? You aren't hurt are you?" the ranger whispered. She frowned when Lance shrugged and refused to look at her. Anna reached out to touch his arm only to withdraw with a flash of hurt when the gunner pulled away, "Natalie obviously healed you since your arm is fine. What's wrong? Do you need to talk about the fight?"

Lance swallowed, his eyes flicked up to meet Anna's concerned gaze before drifting off to the side. "I spoke with Matt and Natalie earlier," he said in a quiet voice, "I'm thinking of leaving the party for good, to protect you guys from my father."

Anna froze; her heart stopping. For a few seconds, she gaped at Lance, searching his face for some reason as to why he would decide that. She slowly reached out again, to pull him to her and persuade him that she didn't care if his father came, that they could take him down together, only to have Lance pull away once more. Anna let her arm fell into her lap as she stared at the gunner.

Tears built in her eyes to overflow down her cheeks as her barely-patched heart cracked and began to crumble again. The ranger felt the first of the tears run down her chin to drip onto her arm. She slowly shook her head with her eyes still fixed on Lance's face, as if her denial would make his words and actions not true. When Lance still kept his gaze fixed on the floor, she squeezed her eyes shut. Her heart kept breaking and she shuffled away from Lance, as though some distance would save her from the sudden, terrifying shadow that threatened to engulf her. She had failed again, and this time Lance was the price. She didn't see as Lance's head jerked up and around to stare at her as she moved away.

"Everyone close to me is disappearing. I'm going to be all alone," she said, her voice a broken whisper. A numb feeling Anna hadn't felt since Greenwood's massacre swept over her. Her voice became even softer and took on a flat, dead tone, "I wasn't strong enough to save my people and I'm not strong enough to keep you here. I wonder how long before Matt and Natz leave? Maybe my weakness will get them killed, too. Or maybe I should leave as well. They won't need a third wheel around, after all; especially not a weak third-wheel."

Lance felt an invisible knife dig into his heart as he listened to her conclude that she was weak, worthless, and to blame for the loss of the people in her life. Matt and Natalie had been completely right and the answer to his dilemma of staying or going was obvious. He opened his mouth to speak, to retract his words and tell her that he chose to stay. His voice died in his throat when Anna opened her eyes to look at him. Her green eyes, normally so sparkling and bright, were flat and hollow with despair. She reached to her side and drew her dagger. Lance's heart stopped in terror, but before he could move to snatch it from her, she held it out for him, hilt first.

"No more, I'm done. Please?" Anna pleaded in an empty, tired voice. Her eyes shut and she tilted her head back, arm still holding the blade out to Lance.

Lance stared at Anna in horrified disbelief as she held her dagger out, her throat bared for him. He shuddered, took the blade from her hand, and violently flung it away; the weapon clattered against the wall across the room. Lunging forward as Anna's blank eyes reopened, he grabbed her and pulled her against him. The invisible knife stabbed in his heart twisted as the ranger simply sat there. Lance buried his face in Anna's shoulder and he drew a shaking breath when she simply let him move her like some kind of doll.

"I'm sorry, that was horrible of me. I still love you, Lance, and asking you to kill me when you're leaving to protect me from Markus is wrong," Anna said in that same dead tone. Lance felt the slightest bit of tension fade from his muscles and he tried once again to assure her that he was staying, only to have them seize up even tighter than before as she went on.

"I can rest after the Primordial is gone. May… may the gentle winds of the forest forever bless your life. Goodbye… Lance," she murmured, voice catching on her farewell.

The words frozen in Lance's throat burst free in a stream that tumbled over itself, "No! Not goodbye! I'm sorry, Anna, I'm so sorry! I love you. I'm staying, so stop talking like that, please! It was wrong of me to even consider leaving, especially when you've lost so much already. I'm sorry, I love you."

Anna remained still for the longest time and Lance feared that he had broken her. With one sentence, he had destroyed his love, and it seemed like there wouldn't be any fixing her. Bitter tears of self-loathing filled his eyes and he pressed his face further into the ranger's shoulder. What had he done? Even if he had decided to stay, he had made the choice too late. Matt and Natalie had always been better at reading people and emotions than him. Why hadn't he listened to them? Lance's breath caught in a sob as he tightened his grip on Anna, but she remained unresponsive.

Suddenly, Anna melted in his grasp and her arms flew around him to grip the back of his shirt. Lance felt a wave of relief swamp him and he held her tight as she started bawling; anything was better than the lifelessness she had been displaying. Lance's own shoulders began to shake with silent sobs as disjointed words tumbled from Anna's mouth, and she started to cough with her tears.

Finally, she gave up on speaking and shifted to press her mouth to Lance's. The tears on their faces mixed as Lance pushed her closer with a hand on the back of her head. Anna pulled away for a quick gasping breath before lunging back in. Their tears slowed to a halt and Lance slowly pulled away, opening his eyes to meet Anna's. He felt his heart soar as he saw a faint sparkle had returned to them.

"You'll stay? Really?" Anna quietly asked, wiping her tears away. The disbelieving hope in her voice and eyes was fragile. The light in her eyes flickered and she hesitantly added, "Even… even if I'm weak?"

Lance cleaned his face as well before solemnly nodding. "Yes, for as long as you'll let me," he murmured. He watched her eyes brighten until they almost seemed to glow with relief and happiness. His face set and he added in a gentle and firm voice, "And you aren't weak, Anna. You're not. Please don't think you are anymore."

Lance held Anna's gaze until the shadow of doubt cleared and her face split into a beaming smile. Anna lunged forward to kiss him again and let out a soft sigh as Lance pulled her flush against him. She pressed even closer only to break the kiss with a yelp as they fell over. Lance grunted in surprise as he fell back and Anna landed on top of him. Anna's hands pressed against Lance's chest and she sat up to look down at him, still beaming.

The gunner's breath caught in his throat as he looked up at Anna straddling his hips. A few pieces of her green hair had slipped loose from her ponytail, falling to frame her smiling face; the rest of the tail fell over her left shoulder. Her green eyes shone with happiness and love as she looked down at him. Her cheeks were still a little red from the crying and her lips were slightly swollen from kissing. Her chest heaved as she regained her breath.

"Beautiful," Lance breathed, eyes scanning her features.

Anna blushed from the intense look Lance was giving her and from the desire building in his eyes. Her flush darkened even further when she realized how they were positioned. Lance didn't seem to mind, though, and honestly: neither did she. So instead of moving off, the ranger leaned down and brushed a chaste kiss across Lance's lips.

When she pulled away and sat up again, Lance pulled her back down for a more heated exchange. Anna moaned into the kiss, eyes slipping shut. She leaned back as Lance sat up; maintain the contact of their lips all the while. As soon as they were upright, Anna's hands slipped under Lance's shirt to run up his back. She grinned into the kiss as she felt him shudder, only to moan as his own hands ran down her sides to grasp her hips and tug her closer.

Lance broke the kiss suddenly, panting heavily. With an enormous strength of will, he removed his hands from Anna's hips. He stared at her with a mixture of love and lust in his crimson gaze. The ranger's eyes fluttered open to stare at him with the same emotion in her own green eyes, though there was also a small amount of nervousness.

"Why'd you stop? Did I do something wrong?" Anna anxiously asked.

Lance let out a breathless laugh, "Trust me: you were fine and I'd love to keep going, but I thought I should stop now while I can."

Anna tossed her hair back over her shoulder and grinned, "That irresistible am I?"

"Very much so," Lance assured her. Anna's eyes narrowed slightly as her grin slowly morphed into a smile and Lance groaned. "Don't make that face, you temptress; I might have to ravish you," he warned.

The ranger leaned closer. "Maybe I want you to," she suggested against his lips.

Lance's eyes widened and he let out a groan. His hands drifted back to her hips as he murmured, "Really?"

"Yes," Anna replied softly, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Are you sure?" he asked, needing to be sure that this was what she wanted.

Anna gave a breathy laugh and leaned further in so her mouth was next to his ear. "Ravish me, Lance," she breathed.

Anna felt as Lance's body shuddered at the sensual words that brushed over his ear. His head fell onto her shoulder and he released a long, low groan that set her heart racing and desire blazing through her body. A second later, and Lance shifted, his mouth latching onto the bare skin of her neck right over her fluttering pulse-point. Anna let out a moan of her own as she felt his tongue flick against the patch of skin he was sucking on and she tilted her head to the side to give him more space.

Lance felt her head tilt and released the patch of skin with a wet popping sound. He trailed up Anna's neck with a series of licks, nips, and soft kisses, continuing over her jaw to seal his lips over hers. His tongue ran over her lower lip and slipped inside her mouth when she opened it with a moan. Their tongues rubbed past each other, twining in a dance that left them both breathless and wanting more.

Anna gave a small whine of disappointment when Lance broke their kiss only for the sound to morph into another moan as she felt his hands wander up from her hips to trail lightly over her stomach. Her breathing hitched in anticipation as she felt his hands slip closer to her breasts only to let out a sigh of impatience when they diverted from their course to drift behind her back.

Lance sent her a wicked grin when Anna's pout vanished with a bright blush as she felt his fingers tugging on the laces of her dress. Her breath caught and she tensed as she felt the knot come undone and Lance tugged the dress down to reveal the swells of her breasts. Lance stopped immediately and his eyes flicked to meet hers, asking a silent question. Anna stared back at him with wide eyes and a bright blush. Her mouth cracked open only to noiselessly shut again, unable to articulate that she was okay, merely nervous.

She looked down and to the side in dismay as she felt Lance's hands pull away. A rustle of cloth had her looking back up and she gaped as she saw Lance shuck the red jacket of his outfit off and to the ground before reaching for the hem of his faded t-shirt. Lance paused at her stare and sent her a gentle smile.

"I know you're nervous, and I thought maybe if I lost some clothes first it would make this a little easier for you," Lance explained in a soft voice.

Anna's look of disappointment vanished to be replaced with a wide smile as a swell of appreciation and love rose within her. Her smile changed to a grin as her confidence came back. "I think removing your clothes is my job, though, isn't it?" she asked in a seductive tone.

Lance suppressed a moan at her voice and words, "Be my guest."

He shuffled closer to Anna and sat back on his legs, waiting patiently as she grasped the hem of his shirt. She hesitated, her confidence draining away again. She had seen Lance shirtless plenty of times in the past, but those times had been to check wounds, or when he changed for bed—never right before having sex. Suddenly, Anna let go as she was swamped by virginal inhibitions. She and Lance had made out before, certainly, but they had never removed clothing, and their touches had been relatively brief. Despite the comments Lance sometimes threw around, he had never pressed her for sex, and she had never done anything close to this before and was afraid of messing up.

Lance saw the flash of uncertainty in Anna's eyes as she let go. He gently caught her chin with one hand and looked into her eyes. "Talk to me, love; what's wrong? I won't be mad if you want to quit now," he murmured.

Anna's heart fluttered at the new endearment and the sincerity in Lance's voice. Still she looked to the side as she mumbled, "No, I still want this. It's just that… I've never done this before and I'm worried that I'm going to screw it up for both of us." Now that the fear was in the open, Anna felt even more ridiculous. Her eyes squeezed shut and a blush of embarrassment rose on her cheeks.

Lance gently squeezed Anna's chin as he said in a gentle voice, "Hey, look at me." He waited until her eyes opened and met his before he went on in the same soft tone, "I've never done this before, either. And honestly, you're more likely to be hurt because of it than I am and I'm sorry for that; I promise to do what I can to help. Even if this turns out to be awkward and probably sometimes painful, it will still be perfect to me because it's with you, okay? Now, are you sure you want to go on? I'll wait until you're ready—however long it takes."

Anna's face broke into a brilliant smile and she leaned forward to brush a sweet kiss on Lance's cheek. "Love you," she breathed as she pulled back.

There was a confident gleam in her eyes as she reached forward again and grabbed the hem of Lance's shirt. With minimal effort, she pulled the loose fabric up and over his head; Lance leaned forward and raised his arms to help facilitate the motion.

Anna dropped the shirt to the side and her eyes raked over Lance's toned, pale chest. She reached out with one hand and lightly trailed a single finger down the center of his chest, pressing her hand flat against him when she reached his abs. She watched in wonder as the muscles in his chest and stomach tensed at her touch. Lance's hands clenched on his legs and his head fell back with a groan as her touch drifted lower before stopping just above his belt. The heat pulsing through Anna's body strengthened as she listened to his groan and as his breathing hitched, although it was also paired with a flash of nerves as she spotted the bulge in his pants. Anna pulled back and grabbed Lance's hands.

Lance's head fell forward again and his eyes reopened as he felt her place his fingers on the sides of her dress. Anna blushed as Lance looked to her for confirmation, but gave him a small nod and a smile. He smiled back and pulled the green and brown fabric down to pool around her hips, leaving a bra as the only covering on her breasts. There was moment of quiet filled with the drumming of rain on the roof before Anna slid her arms free of her dress' sleeves and reached behind her to unclasp the final piece of cover. Letting the small fabric drop, Anna shivered as the cool air of the room ran across her heated skin and her nipples hardened.

Anna fidgeted uncomfortably when Lance remained sitting there, staring at her bare chest. He seemed transfixed as his eyes swept over her skin, running from the tanner part of her neck and shoulders down to the lighter skin of her chest and stomach. His eyes focused on where her nipples sat, pale pink bumps against the smooth skin. One of Anna's arms began to creep up to cover her breasts in embarrassment while the other reached down to grasp her dress.

She was about to yank the dress back up when Lance caught both of her arms and held them still. He leaned forward and pressed another heated kiss to her lips and Anna's eyes shut with a groan and she relaxed. Her eyes opened again, all traces of embarrassment gone, as Lance pulled back. She let out a small squeak when Lance's hands released her arms to snake behind her back and he pulled her flush against him. Anna moaned at the sensation of their bare skin pressing together. She tensed again, this time in pleasure, as he pushed her back again and his hands moved to lightly cup her breasts.

Lance was relieved that Anna had calmed down. He grinned at the dazed look in her eyes and began to explore her body, figuring out what she liked. One hand gently squeezed her left breast and he watched her eyes shut again with a pleasured sigh. The fingers of his other hand moved to rub across a hardened nipple, earning him a breathy moan. He squeezed her breast a little harder at the same time his other hand pinched her nipple lightly. Anna's response was to throw her head back with a cry that had made Lance groan. He pulled both hands away and smirked when Anna let out a moan, trying to encourage him to continue playing with her breasts. Lance pushed her gently to lie on the bedroll.

Anna watched in a breathless daze as he tugged her dress the rest of the way off, leaving her only in her plain white panties, and undid his belt. She sat up again to watch as he pulled his cargo pants down to reveal his black boxer shorts. There was a significant tent as Lance's arousal pressed against the cloth. Anna swallowed heavily as she stared at it. Luckily, Lance was soon back and distracting her again. In a blur of movement, one of his hands rose and covered her left breast while his head ducked so his mouth could latch onto her right nipple. Anna's eyes went wide and she let out Lance's name in a dragged-out moan. Her arms wound around his back to press him closer to her chest.

Lance felt a twinge of masculine pride as he reduced Anna to a moaning mess. His caught her nipple in his teeth. His tongue flicked across his captive and one of Anna's hands rose to the back of his head, pressing his mouth into her breast. His hand massaged her other breast, pausing every little while to give a light, twisting-tug on the nipple. His free hand rubbed over the smooth and taut skin of her stomach, and he felt her shiver at the sensation.

Suddenly, Anna sat up and slid into Lance's lap in a desperate need to be closer to him. She moaned as his arousal pressed against her still-covered privates and shifted slightly, trying to get comfortable, only to freeze with a gasp as a wave of pleasure shot through her. She felt Lance's hands still as he pulled back with a groan at the sudden friction. His head leaned forward to rest in the valley between her breasts and Anna let out another moan as the heated breaths of his panting washed over the sensitized skin of her chest.

Lance jerked away suddenly, his head falling back with a loud groan as Anna began grinding on his lap, trying to gain more of the pleasurable sensation. His hands shot down to her hips and he pressed her down against his arousal. A light sweat covered both of their bodies and their eyes were tightly shut as they ground against each other. Anna let out a high whine of pleasure that became a groan of distress as Lance suddenly pushed her off.

Her eyes opened to reveal that they were glazed to match the pleasure-drunken expression on the rest of her face. Her eyes sought Lance's out and she gave a grin when she saw him panting and shuddering with pleasure. His own lust-glazed eyes cracked open only to shut again with a groan as he saw her arms raised towards him, her eyes begging him to come back and give her the release he had cut her off from. He took several calming breaths and felt his own release subside some.

When his eyes opened again, he almost came anyway as he saw Anna had moved a hand to between her legs and was rubbing her covered clit and moaning. Evidently, she had grown impatient with waiting for him to come back and decided to pleasure herself. Lance's face twisted into a feral smirk and he lunged forward. He grabbed her hand and roughly pinned it against the bedroll above her head. He caught her other hand as it began to creep downward and pinned it as well, shifting his grip to hold both of her wrists with one hand. He grinned when Anna whined, only to tense with a groan as she bucked and rubbed against his arousal. Lance pulled his hips away and smirked when Anna let out another whine.

She threw her head to the side with a loud moan as Lance's free hand teasingly drifted down over her chest and stomach to lightly trace the covered lips of her privates. The touch was too light to do anything but drive her even wilder than she already was. Her hips twisted and bucked, trying to get him to actually touch her.

"P-Please Lance," Anna gasped out.

"'P-Please', what?" was Lance's amused reply. He bent down to suck on the skin of her collar bone and lightly traced over her privates again.

Anna groaned, tears of frustration gathering in the corners of her eyes as he teased her even more. "Y-you know ver-very well what, you ass," Anna moaned. Lance released her skin with a _pop_ to let out a deep chuckle that had Anna shuddering.

"That's not a very nice thing to call me when you want something," Lance said teasingly.

His erection was seriously hurting by this point, but this was too erotic of an opportunity to pass up. Anna bit down on her tongue and let out a wordless wail as he pressed slightly harder on her clit before pulling away again. He thought about telling her to keep it down, but decided against it. Matt and Natalie had probably heard them already and figured it out. Heck, they were probably cheering. At least Matt might be; Natalie was probably several shades of red and hiding her face.

"I'm sorry! Now please just touch me already!" Anna yelled, drawing his attention back to her.

Lance let out another laugh, "There, was that so hard?"

He finally took pity on Anna and released her hands to shove her panties down, throwing them somewhere else in the room. Without pausing, he began to vigorously rub her clit with his thumb, causing Anna's back arch. She let out a choked cry of delight and bucked against his hand. Lance moved down her body and nudged her legs apart with his knees. Anna was so wild with pleasure that she didn't even notice what he was doing, much less question it.

Lance removed his boxers with one hand, finally releasing his weeping and aching member. He watched with immense satisfaction as Anna's head whipped back and forth as she thrashed while her hands tightly clutched the bedroll in an attempt to ground herself. Her body shuddered with pleasure as Lance slipped two fingers inside her, still rubbing the small bundle of nerves. He watched her reactions, trying to judge when she was going to come.

Anna was on cloud nine and still soaring higher as Lance worked her body. She felt the pleasure building and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt she was going to explode. She moaned constantly as she drew closer and closer to her impending climax. Suddenly, the bubble of pleasure exploded and heat rushed through her body. Her eyes flew open as she threw her back and let out a moan so loud it was almost a scream as she released. Bliss sparked through her body and shorted her mind out.

She didn't notice as Lance's fingers withdrew and he grasped her legs. She didn't notice when something far thicker replaced them, pressing against her entrance. She didn't feel any of the pain as Lance's member slammed through her barrier, claiming her virginity. In fact, it wasn't until the waves of her first-ever orgasm receded and she felt his trembling hips pressed against hers and a fullness inside her, that she realized what had happened.

Love swelled in Anna as she realized that he had purposely claimed her while she was at the height of her orgasm so she wouldn't feel the pain. She stared in awe up at Lance's tensed face as he held still within her, every muscle trembling with the effort. His ragged breathing broke off for a moment while he swallowed before picking up again. Lance's eyes opened and Anna's own heavy breathing caught at the heated look of love, lust, and tenderness that swirled in his eyes as he looked at her. Tears built in the corners of her eyes as she smiled up at him.

"Are you okay?" he rasped.

Anna beamed and she whispered, "More than okay, thank you." She grinned and rolled her hips upwards, causing Lance both her and Lance to groan at the friction. "Ravish me, Lance," Anna moaned.

The words had the same effect as before; Lance's body gave a massive shudder. He pulled his hips back until only the tip of his member remained within his lover. Before Anna could whine at the loss of him, he slammed back in. Anna's back arched and she moaned loudly. Lance's teeth flashed in a grin at her expression of complete ecstasy and he repeated the motion, moaning all the while.

It took a few thrusts before Lance fell into a steady rhythm, but soon their bodies were moving against each other. When Lance thrust down, Anna's hips rocked up to meet his. The sound of their hips slapping together twined with their moans and groans, filling the room. Anna's legs broke free of Lance's hold to wrap around his waist, pulling him closer and deeper. His freed hands moved to squeeze her bouncing breasts and pull on her nipples. The added stimulation made Anna scream in pleasure and she felt another orgasm building.

Lance groaned from both the heat wrapped around him and at the sight below. Anna's head was tossed sideways and her face was flushed a bright red from pleasure. Her eyes were tightly shut, but her mouth remained open to release an endless stream of moans and calls of his name. Her breasts moved in tandem with his thrusting; only breaking rhythm when he grabbed them to fondle. His gaze fell to where they were connected and he watched, mesmerized, as her body stretched to engulf him again and again as they thrust against each other.

Lance's pace increased and each thrust into Anna's body was a slam that had both of them gasping and moaning between their pants. He had been on the edge of climaxing for a long time, fighting against his release, and he worried that he wouldn't last before Anna came again. With a flash of relief and a moan, he felt the warm walls of her passage begin to quiver. He moved one hand from where he groped her breasts and trailed it down her stomach to her to her clit. He sank a knuckle into the folds and rubbed the tiny bundle of nerves.

Anna's eyes flew wide and her mouth froze in a silent scream. Her back arched and her inner walls tightened around Lance's member. He gave a few more rapid pounds before there was one last, massive thrust and he held there. He let out a long groan and released into his lover, the muscles gripping his member milking him for every last drop. Anna's body fell limp, though she twitched and moaned as Lance gave a few shallow rocks at the end of his orgasm.

Anna's legs dropped from Lance's waist to land on the bedroll and she panted heavily as she stared at the ceiling with a ridiculously wide and sated smile on her face. She gave one last weak moan a few seconds later as Lance withdrew his spent member from her body. She felt their combined fluids seep out of her and that, too, made her really happy. Lance flopped to lie next to her, also panting.

For a long while, the two lovers lay there, basking in the after-glow and trying to catch their breath as they listened to the rain and each others' pants. Lance's head rolled to the side to look at his lover and he smiled in satisfaction and happiness as he saw her sated smile. He leaned up on one arm and moved over Anna to press a kiss to her lips, tongue running over the inside of her mouth. Anna languidly kissed him back with a small sigh.

"That was amazing, Anna, thank you," he whispered as he pulled back and propped his head up on his hand. He smirked as Anna gave a dazed nod.

"That was _really_ amazing. Why didn't we do this sooner?" she asked with a tired grin.

Lance's breathless laughter broke off into yawn. He was tempted to just curl up next to Anna, but he forced himself to sit up. Locating his discarded pants, he dug into his Adventure Pouch and withdrew a cloth and his canteen. He moved to clean up Anna and himself, tossing the rag aside when he finished. He laid out his own bedroll and grinned as he poked a near-asleep Anna into rolling over onto it. That done, he tugged a loose blanket out of his Adventure Pouch and tossed it over their naked bodies before finally curling into Anna's warmth.

Anna shifted down and pressed closer, leaning her head to rest against Lance's chest. Her eyelids drooped shut as she was lulled to sleep by the steady rhythmic beating of his heart and the dull pattering of the rain outside. "Love you," she breathed and fell asleep.

Lance gave a content sigh as Anna shifted to press against him, murmuring. His arm slipped over her body to drape across her side, hand resting low on her hip, fingers rubbing random circles against her skin. His last thoughts before drifting off were of how lucky he was to have such an amazing girlfriend and lover, and how happy he was with his decision to stay.

**OOOOOO**

Anna woke the next morning, feeling relaxed, warm, and content. She smiled with a small sigh before opening her eyes to see Lance's bare chest in front of her face. For a few seconds, Anna stared at his skin before blushing as she remembered what they had done last night. A shy smile spread across her face as she recalled all the things Lance had done to her and how good they had felt.

Anna glanced down at how they were positioned and her flush deepened. The blanket had been pushed down at some point while they were asleep, and now rested low on their hips. Lance had one hand resting on her thigh and one of his legs was tucked between hers. Her own arms were pressed against his torso between their bodies which were flush against each other. Anna tilted her head back to look up into Lance's sleeping face.

The gunner looked completely relaxed and he had a small smile on his lips. His red hair was in a mess around his face and as she watched, he tucked his face into her hair and murmured something unintelligible. Anna smiled as his arm pulled her tighter against him before relaxing again. The gunner's eyelids tightened a second before they sleepily blinked open. He pulled back slightly to look at her for a few moments before his face broke into a brilliant smile. He lifted his arm away and detangled his leg from hers. Lance pushed himself up to lean over, and give her a gentle kiss. Anna's eyes slipped shut as she returned the affection.

"'Morning, how're you feeling?" he whispered as he pulled back. He smiled at the bright look in her eyes as she reopened them.

Anna beamed back at him, "Better than I've ever felt before. You were amazing last night." She shifted to sit up, the blanket falling to her lap. The ranger faintly winced, "Okay, I'm actually a little sore, apparently, but it's not too bad. A quick heal spell should fix it. How about you; are you okay?"

Lance grinned and lay back down. "Way better than okay, although another round would be awesome," he sighed.

Anna laughed, "As much as I'd like that, we need to get up and get dressed. I don't want the other two coming in here while we're naked." She giggled at the disappointed sigh Lance gave and slowly stood up to retrieve her clothes.

Lance's eyes followed her as she moved about the room, admiring her body as she gathered her discarded clothing from where it had been strewn about the night before. Anna glanced over once or twice, but each time she merely smiled at him with a light blush as she dressed. Lance smiled back at her and stood up to locate his own clothing. He grinned when Anna's blush darkened as she stared at him before he moved about and pulled his own clothes on. After he was dressed, he moved to help Anna tie the laces on the back of her Green Dress before spinning her around to give her a kiss. He pulled away and smiled at the dazed look in her eyes.

"Love you, Anna," Lance murmured, "Thank you for last night; you were perfect."

Anna shyly smiled back at him, "Love you, too, Lance. And thank _you_. Last night was amazing."

She pulled back and closed her eyes in concentration. A flash of light came from her crystal necklace and she let out a sigh as the faint ache vanished from her body. She reopened her eyes and said, "Well, I guess we should go get Matt and Natalie up, huh?"

Lance nodded and glanced at the door. A shadow flickered across his face and he murmured, "We need to talk about how to deal with my father before we can leave the temple, though." He blinked the shadow away as Anna's hand slipped into his own.

"We'll be fine," Anna assured him. She met his eyes and added in a quiet, but firm voice, "I'm sure that between the four of us, we can defeat Markus. He's strong but not unstoppable. Natz definitely hit him with her spell yesterday and obviously we won, at least temporarily, since everyone is still alive. We can, and will, beat him, okay?"

The gunner squeezed her hand with a small smile and nodded, "You're right. I think I might have a few ideas that might help us against him, too. Let's go get Matt and Natz to talk it over."

The couple walked out the door to find their friends, hand in hand.


	19. Chapter 19

Natalie and Matt sat in somber silence next to each other with their backs against a wall. Both were wondering what they were going to do if Lance chose to leave. They knew that forcing him to stay was impossible if he decided that leaving to protect them was the best option. Matt's fingers curled into fists as he cursed Markus under his breath. Natalie blankly stared at the far wall and listened to Matt, adding her own silent curses at the General for driving Lance to even consider leaving now. Matt released a heavy sigh.

"It's going to be just us if Lance goes. We can't honestly expect Anna to fight with him gone; I'm not sure we can expect her to do anything. At least, not anything healthy," the swordsman whispered. He shook his head and muttered, "Damnit. I knew Lance's father was screwed up, but seeing it first-hand was horrible. How the hell did he ever get past what his father must have done to him?"

Natalie nodded with a shiver, "And his eyes… It was like back when we faced Lance the first time only even more chilling. No wonder Lance is thinking we'd be better off with no ties to him."

"And Markus is strong; stronger than Lance by far. Still, we got him at the end there. Maybe we killed him," the swordsman's face showed that he didn't really believe that, though.

Natalie shook her head, "No way, my spell didn't even set his clothes on fire. Whatever his cloak is made out of, it's resistant to magic. And he purposefully twisted as he fell to minimize the impact with the water. He'll be back, and even if Lance leaves, I doubt that will be all his father wants from him. Markus trained Lance for a reason and he'll want him back for that end. I think his father will come after us anyway, just to make sure we don't try to stop Lance again."

Matt heaved a sigh, "I guess we'll just have to pray that Lance will seriously think about what we said. He didn't look completely convinced when we made our points. Hopefully, Anna can talk him out of going."

The pair jolted up from where they were sitting as they heard Anna cry out. They exchanged horrified looks and sprang up to go check on her. Just as they were about to open their room door, they heard another scream as Anna begged for Lance to touch her. Both flushed brilliantly and moved away from the door. Obviously, she was fine, and neither wanted to see what was happening between the other two.

Matt snickered, the sound filled with relief. "Well, well, I do believe they are going at it."

Natalie coughed slightly with a grin, "And I doubt that Lance would sleep with Anna if he planned on leaving."

The two looked at each other as another loud moan echoed down the hall followed by a series of groans. Both flushed and their gazes dropped to the floor. Matt shifted uncomfortably as the sounds began to arouse him and glanced at Natalie. He shook his head; no way was Natalie ready for that, which meant he needed to calm down.

"Maybe we should go a little further away until they're done," he suggested in a tight voice.

Natalie glanced at the door, her face still covered in a blush, "Yeah, I'm happy for both of them, but I don't need to hear this. Let's head further into the temple."

The mage led the way out of the room and headed down the hall with Matt following behind her. The swordsman released a silent sigh of relief as the sounds behind them faded with distance. The pair stepped out under an overhang in the courtyard. Rain still fell, though not as heavily as before, and splashed in the small pond and floating lights glittered in various places lighting the falling drops. Natalie paused and smiled as she listened to the water falling and she looked across the courtyard.

Matt watched as she moved and settled down against a wall. The mage glanced up and motioned for him to join her. Soon the couple was sitting close beside each other in a peaceful silence. The constant drumming of rain and the cold night air finally settled the desire that burned through Matt and he let out a sigh. He glanced over at Natalie as she gave a shiver and wrapped an arm around her shoulder to pull her against his side. The mage flinched away at the unexpected contact and Matt froze.

"Sorry," the swordsman mumbled as he pulled his arm back.

Matt felt a twinge of sadness at the fear in Natalie's eyes and he shifted a few inches away. He turned his head to look at the floor and wondered whether he would ever again get to just hold Natalie without her being afraid at first. It had seemed as though she'd gotten over her fear during the fight with Markus, but clearly that was not the case.

"No, I'm sorry; I know you would never hurt me, Matt," Natalie said in a quiet voice laced with sadness. She shifted to close the gap Matt had placed between them and leaned her head on his shoulder. To her confusion, Matt stiffened and pulled away with a shake of his head. Natalie sat up straight and looked at him, "What's wrong?"

Matt's head turned to the side to avoid her gaze. "You don't know what I nearly did to the others. I can't promise I'll never hurt you," he whispered, the words almost lost in the pounding of the rain.

Natalie stared at him, wondering what he was talking about. Suddenly, her eyes lit with realization as she remembered the Grandmaster of origin saying Matt would deal with the other two. The mage swallowed as she realized she still had no idea what he had meant by that.

"The man said you would deal with the others, but I didn't know what he meant by that. What happened, Matt?" she asked.

The swordsman stiffened for a few seconds before slumping. Matt turned his head to face forward, staring blankly out at the rain, not really seeing it. "Right after they grabbed you, we tried to get you back," he began in a soft voice, "Most of them stayed behind to hold us off while you were carried away."

He stopped until Natalie urged him to continue by grabbing his hand and giving it a light squeeze, "In the battle, I got hit with some spell and blacked out. When I came to again, I was on the ground with an arrow through my leg and my hands tied behind my back. Lance and Anna were nearby, staring at me."

Natalie swallowed, having a fair guess as to what had happened. "You attacked them," she said quietly.

Matt faintly nodded, "Yes. I… don't remember much, but there are a few flashes. One, I can see my sword as I stabbed at Anna. She looked terrified as she dodged it and I'm pretty sure I actually hit her. The other one, Lance is on the ground, staring up at me with fear. I almost killed him there, too." The swordsman let out a weak chuckle, "They weren't scared of me later, though. I got the stern talk of ' _don't blame myself for it_ ' from Lance and Anna; I got another one from Lance, later."

Natalie laughed lightly, "You too, huh? He's been doing that a lot, recently. You'd think he would have kept it in mind for himself."

Matt nodded with a small smile, "They're good friends." His smile faded into a frown, "I repaid them by snapping at them to go faster while we were trailing you. We were tired and stressed and Lance yelled at me, saying we needed rest. He… said some things that made me realize I was being a crappy friend."

"You aren't a bad friend for wanting to come find me," Natalie firmly said.

"That's more or less what they said," Matt agreed. His voice fell and he added, "I said some pretty rotten things, though, but they forgave me for it." He considered telling her about what had been said and how it had almost led to his death, but decided against it. She was still fragile from her capture and she didn't need to hear how his stupid choices almost killed him; besides, he was still alive. The swordsman turned to look at the mage leaning against him.

"Lance told me to remind you that you're supposed to talk to me about when you were captured," he mentioned in a quiet voice.

Natalie stiffened, and mumbled, "I was hoping he'd forget about that."

"You don't have to now, if you don't want to. You've already told me most of what you went through, anyway," Matt offered. To his surprise, Natalie shook her head.

"No, he's right: I need to talk about it. I told you what happened and we all know why, but what he told me I need to confront and acknowledge is how I felt and still feel," Natalie said in a small voice. She turned her head to look up at Matt, "I want to get it out of the way; now, if you're up to it. I'm sick of feeling afraid whenever you or Lance gets close unexpectedly and I know it's hurting you as much as it hurts me. I want to be relaxed with you, not second guessing whether a flash of motion is that man coming to touch me again, only to realize it was just one of you guys, or a random animal, or my imagination. I want things to go back to the way they were, as much as they can possibly be."

Matt nodded and gave her a gentle smile, "Okay. I'm proud of you, you know, and I want you to keep in mind that we can stop at any time. Now, do you want me to hold you, or would you feel better if I wasn't touching you?"

"Definitely hold me. Even though I've been flinching when you do, it makes me feel safer when you hold me," Natalie said immediately. She felt Matt's arm slip around her waist and his other hand moved to grasp hers. She gave him a grateful smile before speaking in a small voice.

The next hour or so was spent with Matt quietly listening as she talked. Her voice shook and sometimes broke, but each time she gathered herself and kept talking. The mage spoke of how afraid she had been during her capture and the realization upon awakening that the others were gone and her only defenses had been taken from her. She told him in greater detail of the things that had happened; of how she had been degraded and mocked, deprived of rest and water. She told him how those things had broken her down and pressed her to give up, even if only for a little while. She explained that perhaps the worst part of it all was the feeling of complete helplessness and that, that feeling still persisted. Matt made soft humming sounds to help calm her when she cried and was careful not to tighten his grasp on her waist or hand; no matter how angry he felt at Origin's leader for how he had treated and tried to destroy Natalie.

Finally, the mage fell silent, took a deep, shuddering breath, and said in a hoarse voice, "That's it."

Tears covered her face, but she felt a lightness in her chest now that she had finished that hadn't been there before. Matt slowly released her hand to wipe away some of the tears. Both of them released wide smiles as Natalie didn't flinch or pull away, instead leaning into the gentle touch. The mage gave a laugh of disbelief.

"Wow, that really worked," she said with wonder. She giggled and added, "I don't think I want to jump to what the other two are doing, but I do feel way better."

"Good, I'm glad. I love you Natalie," Matt said with a smile. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek and was ecstatic when she merely twisted to meet his lips with her own. Pulling away he smirked and added, "Though I'm a little surprised the first thing you thought of is what Lance and Anna are getting up to."

Natalie flushed and buried her head in Matt's chest and mumbled, "Well, you have to admit the sounds were… arousing." Her flush deepened as she felt Matt's chest shake with laughter.

"Oh, I agree. I just didn't know you're a closet pervert, Natz," he said in between his laughs. He grinned when she weakly smacked his chest and mumbled for him to shut up. He chuckled as she pulled away and crossed her arms with a huff and a pout.

"I blame you for it," Natalie muttered.

Matt arched one brow, "For wanting sex? I've been tempting you, huh? That's fine. I can promise you've been tempting me." He burst out laughing at the look of embarrassment on the mage's face.

Natalie covered her ears and yelled, "Argh! Get your mind out of the gutter!" Her hands fell and she glared at her boyfriend as he kept laughing.

With another chuckle Matt said, "Hey you started this!" He quelled his laughs and said more seriously, "If you want to have sex, then I'm all for it, but don't push yourself. And, as much as it pains me to say this, I refuse to have any tonight."

Natalie's glare melted into an uncertain look, "I'm not ready for that yet, you're right." She glanced to the floor before looking back up again with heated cheeks, "I have wanted you for a long time now, though. I'd like to try when I'm more recovered."

Matt's own cheeks heated and he gave her a mute nod. He removed his arm from his waist and stood up. The swordsman held a hand out for Natalie and pulled her to her feet as well. Gesturing at the door they had come through he said, "I doubt they're still going at it, let's get some sleep. We need it after all the stress and fighting from today."

Natalie nodded and smiled as Matt wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back inside. She made a mental note to thank Lance for pushing her to talk to Matt. It was a huge burden off of her shoulders to not flinch every time her boyfriend touched her. Aside from the gentle pattering of rain, there was silence in the halls as they headed back to their room. Matt slid the door open and they stepped inside. Natalie laid her bed roll out and flopped down on it, listening as Matt rolled his own out nearby. Sleep tugged at the mage and she mumbled a goodnight to Matt and smiled faintly as he whispered one back to her. Soon she was asleep, a gentle smile still on her face.

The swordsman remained awake for a while, listening to the even breaths of Natalie and the tapping of raindrops. He was so glad that she was finally on the mend, and hoped that she would still be okay in the morning. Matt rolled over to look at Natalie's sleeping face and smiled at her relaxed expression. He was surprised to hear her admit she wanted him. And he hadn't been lying when he said he wanted her, too. If he were completely honest with himself, he had wanted her for years—long before they had started dating—and he hoped that maybe she would be ready for that step soon. Still, he wouldn't press her; just because she was feeling much better and admitted to wanting sex didn't mean that they would be rolling under the blankets anytime soon. Finally, his eyes began to slip shut and he released a sigh before falling asleep.

**OOOOOO**

Matt jolted awake the next morning when a knock sounded on frame of the sliding door. Sitting up, he quietly called to whoever was outside to hang on a second. He leaned over and pressed a small kiss to Natalie's cheek before rolling to his feet. Padding over to the door, he pushed it open and peered out to see Lance standing outside with Anna slightly behind him. Matt's face split into a grin at the content smiles on their faces. He stepped outside and slid the door shut behind him.

"Had fun last night? It sure sounded like it," he said in an amused tone. His eyes darted to a dark spot on Anna's neck, "Looks like it, too." His grin widened at the brilliant flush that spread over Anna's face and the wide smile Lance gave him.

"I thought you might have heard us. Anna's very loud," Lance said with a grin.

Anna buried her face in her hands. "Please stop," she mumbled in mortification.

Matt snickered and noted that she made no move to run or hit Lance for the comment. He gave the gunner a smirk and said, "She wasn't the only loud one." His smirk morphed into a grin as Lance's face flushed and he spluttered incoherently for a few seconds. The grin widened and he added, "You two's noises may or may not have made Natalie consider sex, by the way. Thanks for that from both of us."

Anna let out a squeak and she buried her face in Lance's back as the gunner choked and stared at Matt. A second later and the room door slid open to reveal Natalie. The mage moved forward and whapped Matt across the back of the head. Matt took the hit with a good-natured mock-glare at the mage. Lance's eyebrows shot up as he watched the exchange and rose even higher as Matt leaned in to kiss Natalie with no fear being displayed from the mage.

"Got that talk in, did you?" he asked.

Natalie turned to look at him as she leaned against Matt. "Yup, you two were way too loud to stay nearby so we went to the courtyard," she said with a smirk. Lance's face reddened again and she half expected him to start glaring at her and Matt for the teasing, but Lance merely mumbled under his breath.

Natalie nudged Matt and joked, "All we needed to do to get Lance to stop glaring was to get him laid? Why didn't we think of this sooner?"

Matt doubled over and burst out laughing as Anna squeaked again while Lance huffed. He turned to snag Anna's wrist and led her down the hall. Matt and Natalie trailed after them, still chuckling.

Matt tapped Natalie's shoulder and stage-whispered, "That begging thing was pretty awesome, huh?"

Natalie snorted, "You're right, but I hope you aren't getting any ideas."

Anna and Lance twitched and started to walk faster. They did their best to ignore the snickers from behind them. The couple turned into their room and slid the door shut behind them with a slam. Matt and Natalie burst out laughing.

"Okay, we're done, now," Natalie called. She grinned at the loud snort that Lance gave from within the room.

Matt grinned when Anna pushed the door open and pulled Lance out into the hall. The ranger's cheeks were still pink, but she made eye contact with Matt and said, "Good, because one more remark out of either of you, and I'm throwing one of Matt's swords off a cliff."

Matt's grin faded into a look of horror, "You wouldn't."

"Try me," Anna said with a glint in her eyes. She nodded as Matt shook his head and backed off with his hands raised in surrender. "Good. Now then, Lance is staying, but we need to have a talk about how to deal with Markus."

Natalie's grin dropped into a frown, "I'm so glad to hear that, and you're right. He can't get in here, but I bet he's still in the mountains with us."

Lance nodded, "Almost certainly. There is no way he died in that river. He'll be waiting for us to come out and then he'll ambush us. The terrain around here is ideal for a few things, but keep in mind that whatever I think of, he'll almost certainly think of it too. Everything I know about planning and tactics, I learned from him; and I can promise you that he's way stronger than me. You likely realized that yesterday, though."

Matt nodded, "Okay so what are our options? We can't stay here forever, after all."

Lance frowned, "We can attempt to ambush him before he ambushes us, or we can try to sneak past him. He can't be everywhere at once and the stone of the mountains will interfere with any kind of radar he might try to use. Frankly, I'd like to kill him before we leave, but I don't know if that will be possible. He's had enough time to lay dozens of traps on any of the accessible trails."

Anna spoke up next, "I think we should try to leave unseen. I saw a few places that look like they wouldn't be too hard to climb down from. If we can get far enough to the side, we can slip out of the mountains without him realizing. First though, Lance says he has a few ideas we can try against Markus."

"Really?" Matt asked with wide eyes.

Lance nodded, "I want to tell you what I know about his skills first, though. Yesterday was the first time I've seen him since I was fifteen, so he probably has some new skills and tactics, but I can tell you what I know for a fact. Obviously, he's skilled at hand-to-hand combat and with guns, but he's also very capable with blades of just about any length. He didn't use any magic yesterday, but I can promise you that he can use it very well, at least offensively. He uses fire and wind mostly, but he can do lightning as well. He doesn't have healing magic or defensive magic, as far as I know. He's a brilliant tactician both in combat and in the long haul. Like I said before, anything I try he will almost certainly have considered and prepared for. He's probably deduced a lot about our skill and party dynamics from our tangle yesterday. We all need to be prepared for if and when he attacks again."

The others nodded. And Lance smirked, "On a more positive note, while we were fighting, I've noticed some weaknesses about him."

Natalie, Matt, and Anna gaped at him.

"Like what?" Natalie asked.

"This is going to sound really obvious and stupid, but it's also his greatest weakness; and one we don't have as much of a problem with. He's only one human. Yesterday, Natalie and Matt caught him by surprise. He didn't see you coming, because he couldn't. He doesn't have eyes on the back of his head and he doesn't anyone watching his back. He can only be in one place at any given time, and despite his strength and skill, age has slowed him down," Lance said in a serious voice.

"You're right. And based on the things he said to you, he isn't likely to pick up some allies," Matt thoughtfully mused.

Lance nodded, "Definitely not and that's another one of his weakness. He's very arrogant and that will have greatly skewed his sense of what he is or is not capable of. For that same reason, he's unlikely to pick us off with a sniper rifle. He'll want to get in close like he did yesterday so he can try the same psychological torture. Whatever he wants me for, he'll have an easier time getting me to do it if I'm broken; and, as callous as this is going to sound, that's much more likely to be lasting if he kills one of you up close and psychotically, not from far away." The gunner swallowed and glanced at Anna, "Except for you, Anna. He'll likely take you out without hesitation."

The ranger shook her head confidently, "He won't kill me."

The others stared at her. Matt frowned, "He'll go for you first and you know it."

Anna shook her head again, "No, he'll go for me last and he won't kill me. Think about what he said before we fought yesterday. He watched me after the massacre at Greenwood at the behest of the Grandmaster of Origin, and yet he chose not to kill me then. He knows how you will react if I were actually dead, and your death doesn't suit his goals, whatever they are."

Matt frowned, "He was a split second from killing you yesterday, though."

Lance was staring at Anna with a thoughtful, but disturbed look in his eyes, "She has a point, though. Yesterday, I couldn't have suicided before he restrained me; I had a broken arm, and he had my main weapon." He frowned and added, "However that just means he'll try to use you to bait me, Anna."

"He'll do that anyway, though," Anna argued. She paused and her eyes widened in realization, "Wait, that's it."

"No," Lance sharply said.

Natalie glanced between them, "I think I get where you're going, Anna, and I agree with Lance: it's too dangerous."

"What is?" Matt asked.

The mage glanced at him, "If Anna is the one Markus needs to really get to Lance then she would make the perfect bait for a trap."

Matt's jaw dropped and he shook his head, "No way. I'm with the others on this, Anna."

The ranger looked like she was about to argue, but she deflated and mumbled, "Okay, but I want you guys to keep it in mind."

Lance shook his head, "I'm never going to agree to that plan, and you know it." He glanced at her with a desperate look and added, "Please don't suggest things like that."

Anna slumped, "Fine." She leaned into Lance as he slipped an arm around her waist.

Matt glanced between them, "So what's the actual plan?"

Lance looked back at him, "For now, we try to get off the mountain without a confrontation; there are too many places where he can ambush us here and the footing is poor at best. If he does find and attack us, then we do our best to surround him. If we can't, then stay in a group. We can't get too close to him, but we can't stay too far away, either. The gun he has on him is non-automatic, probably with only a few bullets in the clip, and really only good at a short range. His only other options are hand-to-hand or disarming one of us and using our weapons. Natalie, I want you to keep us covered with defensive magic and Anna, I want you to cast Reflex on us before we step out of the cave leading away from the temple."

"Okay, but what about once we're away from here?" Natalie asked.

Lance hesitated and said, "He knew we were coming here, he knew we were in the Crystal Caverns, and he probably knows we're heading for the volcano next. We can deal with him there. We'll need to move fast, though."

Anna nodded, "Okay, then. Are we ready to go?"

Matt shook his head and said in a very serious tone, "Nope. I want breakfast."

Lance's stomach grumbled as if in agreement and they all burst out laughing. The gunner grinned sheepishly and led the way to the courtyard. Once there, they sat down and pulled out various drinks and bits of food. Despite the danger they were about to head into, their spirits were high. Their party's bonds were stronger than ever and they knew they would all make it off of the mountain.

Anna finished first and pulled out Iron Tooth. The others glanced at her, but she merely said she wanted to get some practice in before they left. The ranger stepped a little ways away and nocked one of the large, bladed arrows on the string. She pulled it back with a slight grunt and held it steady for a few seconds, aiming at a large rock on the far side of the courtyard in the pond.

With a _twang_ , she released the arrow and tsked a second before it skittered off the edge of the rock and flew into the sky. Anna sighed and nocked another arrow. This one slammed into and through the center of the rock, making the jaws of the three behind her drop. They had seen the bow's power yesterday, but to see an arrow go straight through solid stone was impressive.

"Holy- That's insane," Natalie gasped.

Matt nodded and stuffed another chunk of fruit in his mouth as he watched Anna nock a third arrow. He swallowed the food and said, "Just one hit like that and I think just about anything would die."

Lance shook his head, "If the arrow hits the right place, yes. The draw weight is still throwing her aim off some, though. Right, Anna?"

The ranger released the third arrow and watched with satisfaction as it, too, plowed through the rock. She glanced back at the others and said, "Yes, but I think I can handle it. Besides, it will cripple anything I hit, even if I miss a vital spot."

"What about your Arrow Rain?" Natalie asked, "It looks like you might not be able to draw the arrows back swiftly enough for an effective one."

Anna shrugged, "Probably not yet, no. That will likely change after I use this bow a lot, though." She grinned and slung the weapon over her shoulder, "I like this bow; I think it's my new favorite."

Lance grinned, "That's good, because those dragons were a pain."

The gunner swallowed the last of his food and stood up, followed by Matt and Natalie. His face took on a nervous cast as he shouldered his weaponry. It was time to leave their safe haven, and attempt to get off the mountain without Markus killing them. The party headed back into the temple, headed for the exit. Lance glanced back at the other three as they walked, and couldn't help but wondered if he was leading them to their deaths.

Anna caught Lance's gaze and gave him a reassuring smile. She sped up to walk next to him, and slipped her hand into his to give it a brief squeeze. Matt clapped a hand on his shoulder with a bright grin. Natalie smiled at him with a nod. The gunner gave them a wan smile in return, and relaxed slightly. They stepped out into the front of the temple, and each person took a deep breath.

As though he had known they were ready, NoLegs appeared in front of them with a quiet meow, prepared to guide them out of the mountains. Anna pulled out her flute and played the tune for Reflex. Instantly, the whole party felt lighter, faster, and more aware. They gave each other one last look and then filed into the cave leading out of the box canyon. With any luck, they would be able to avoid another confrontation with the General. They knew they were as prepared as they could be, however. Markus would not catch them by surprise again.


	20. Chapter 20

Just before they were out of the cave, Lance turned to NoLegs. "We need a path out of the mountains, upstream," he said swiftly. "Markus fell in the river, so the more distance we can put between ourselves and where he'll have climbed out, the better."

NoLegs meowed and led the way out of the cave. He turned in the opposite direction from where he'd led them before, and bounded up a slope. Matt went next with Natalie and Anna directly behind him. Lance brought up the rear, eyes darting everywhere for possible signs of traps or an ambush.

They traveled in tense silence, following NoLegs up and down narrow paths. Once, a mage bird had burst out of a scraggly tree. The party jumped in surprise, and Matt readied his weapon, but an arrow from Anna took it down silently, going clean through the monster. The ranger nodded to herself with satisfaction and motioned for them to keep going. When they had seen no sign of Markus or any other monsters, they each became tenser than before.

"This is awful," Matt muttered, referring to the constant stress of waiting for an attack.

Natalie nodded with a tight look on her face, "I almost wish he'd just attack us already so we can get it over with."

NoLegs rounded a corner in the stone and the others followed to see a massive, but narrow canyon. Anna stopped and stared at it. It was dark in the narrow pass, and she could see a number of ledges in the walls. She exchanged glances with the rest of the party, a grim look on her own face.

Lance blew out a tense breath and shook his head, "There's a prime ambush spot if I've ever seen one."

"NoLegs, can you smell anything unusual here?" Anna asked quietly.

The cat shook his head and mewed quietly. "The rain washed away all the scents," Natalie translated. She cocked her head and stared down the canyon for a long moment, then murmured, "He's there alright, I can sense his mana."

Matt scowled, "How the hell did he get here ahead of us? He fell down a cliff into a river that I'm sure flooded at some point!"

NoLegs meowed a few times and Natalie translated, "There are old tunnels riddling the mountains. NoLegs says you can get pretty much anywhere through them."

Lance grunted, "Somehow, I'm not surprised the old bastard knew about them. He knew about the temple with Iron Tooth, he knew about where Equilibrium was, and he knew where ever the hell Super Snipe ended up. He probably knows where the last damn weapon is, too."

"So what do we do?" Anna asked quietly. "If Natz can sense him, I'm sure he can probably sense us. We'll have to face him in there, and the walls will keep us from surrounding him easily."

Lance chewed on his lip for a long while, red eyes staring down the canyon. His mind turned over a number of possibilities, weighing the pros and cons of each. Finally, he settled on a plan. The chances of getting out with no injuries were slim to none, but if it worked, they would buy themselves a lot of time. He glanced at his friends and heaved a sigh.

"Sprint through as fast as possible," Lance said quietly. "Natalie, be ready with your barrier spell, we'll probably need it. Anna, redo your Reflex spell. Once we're past him, I'll collapse the canyon with some explosives."

Matt stilled and stared at him in disbelief, "While we're still in it?"

Lance nodded, "Yes, it's highly unlikely that he's waiting at the very end; it makes no sense from a strategic standpoint. Likely, there will be a straight line of sight for him, and he'll be over our heads with his gun. The fact that he'll be up on the wall will mean that he doesn't have much room to dodge. When the canyon collapse, he'll likely fall as well."

"He's not the only thing that will fall, what about the rocks?" Matt asked heatedly. "We'll be buried alive!"

Lance shot him a level look, "Not if you run damn fast, you won't. Natz, your barrier will be invaluable here, too. We'll need it as a ceiling of sorts as we run. Can you do that?"

Natalie nodded, "For a little while, sure. Too much pressure and it'll crack, though."

Anna spoke up quietly, "What if he shoots one of us before we're past him? Get hit anywhere beside the arms and we'll be slowed down, maybe even stopped."

"I can heal any bullet wound in less time than it takes to blink," Natalie assured her. "Just be sure to keep running once you're up."

Anna nodded, "Okay. We ready?"

The rest of them nodded. Anna cast reflex on them one last time. They each took a deep breath, and with NoLegs in the lead, they began sprinting down the canyon. The walls towered overhead, oppressive and imposing. The walls narrowed until there was barely enough space for two of them to run side-by-side. The further they went, the greater they began to feel an oppressive aura. Markus was waiting for them.

They rounded a bend, and immediately there was a crack and Lance sidestepped a bullet that slammed into the ground at his feet. Even as he dodged, his eyes traced the trajectory of the bullet. As he had suspected, Markus far over their heads on a stone bridge spanning the canyon. Lance's eyes narrowed as he noted the man made no move to load his gun again. Natalie's barrier came up for the briefest of moments, and a fireball exploded against it. The mage smiled grimly as they raced through the smoke left behind by the attack.

Then, Markus tossed a small canister down. Sickly, green smog leaked from the lid and Lance's eyes widened. "Poison gas! Anna, blow that away with a Gust spell," he called.

A second later and a powerful wind blasted the smog and its canister away. In that same moment, Markus shot his gun again. Anna let out a sharp cry and hit the ground, a bullet in her leg. Lance's head whipped around as his pace faltered, but Natalie's healing magic already had Anna staggering to her feet. The ranger gave Lance a grim smile and snagged his wrist as she ran by to keep him running.

Then, just as they passed beneath the stone bridge Markus stood on, a massive explosion happened. The party skidded to a halt as the end of the canyon collapsed. Lance swore heavily and ripped Super Snipe from his back. He swung around, raising it to blast his father with a Plasma Shot. The man merely returned fire with one of his own, resulting in a blast. Lance's eyes narrowed as he watched his father leap down the cliff side and he dropped Super Snipe in favor of his gunblade and loaded a bullet.

Lance traced the path Markus took and fired a Sniper Shot at where the man's foot would land. The stone crumbled beneath Markus' foot, but he merely did a graceful flip and landed near-silently on the ground in a crouch. Matt made to lunge forwards, but was snagged by Natalie. The swordsman shot her a look to which she shook her head.

"Remember what happened last time?" Natalie said grimly. "We need to stick together."

Matt scowled, but slid back in rank. He shot a look over at Lance and muttered, "Markus beat us to collapsing the canyon, so now what?"

Lance's face was set in resigned determination. "We kill him here, that's what," Lance said quietly. "I was hoping we'd be able to get out of here to better terrain, but that isn't an option anymore."

Markus stood up and fixed a cold look on the party. "I knew you'd be come through here," he said calmly. "You should have moved through the rain, perhaps then you would have gotten away. Now hand over the mage."

Matt's eyes narrowed, "I think you already know what our response is to that, prick."

"Such nasty language," Markus tutted in mock-admonishment. "You really should treat your betters more politely."

The swordsman hefted his blade with a deadly gleam in his eyes, "You're hardly my better."

Markus gave a soft, chilling laugh, "Says the man who was nearly thrown off a cliff the day before."

"Better than actually falling off," Natalie shot back.

The General merely shrugged, "True enough, I suppose. That won't be happening this time, however."

While the pair traded insults with Markus, Lance did a size up. The fact that the man was moving so easily meant he had indeed learned healing in the years since Lance had last seen him. His variety of weapons also meant that he had an Adventure Pouch on him. And something about the man's attitude made Lance think he was hiding something.

Lance cut in before Matt or Natalie could say anything else. "Natz, step to the back; Anna, you too. Climb up the rubble behind us for vantage and safety," he ordered in a level voice. "NoLegs, you're with them on the off chance the bastard gets too close."

The two women looked startled, but slid back as he ordered. Lance turned his attention to Matt, coolly ignoring his father. "Matt, I'm going to need a Temper. Natz, I need a Charm. Anna, I need a focused Reflex," Lance requested calmly as he loaded six bullets into his gun. He felt the swell of magic from his friends.

Markus frowned at the lack of any attempt to hide their orders, "This is rather transparent for you. I'm disappointed."

Lance spared him half a glance, "Like father, like son, I suppose, since I'm equally disappointed in you. I knew you'd collapse the canyon, I knew you'd come down to face us, I even knew you'd open up with demanding Natalie right away. You've become predictable." He hadn't in reality, but no one else knew that. It was time for some mind games, and he could kill two birds with one stone in a moment.

His friends gaped at him in shock. Markus, however, looked mildly amused.

"So then why did you come down here?" he asked.

Lance's teeth flashed in a feral smile. He didn't answer the question as he calmly added, "You might as well not count on the timed charges you have lining the cliff. Matt, stand back by Natz and Anna, I don't want to hit you with this next attack."

Markus showed the first signs of surprise. Matt looked like he wanted to protest, but he did as Lance ordered. Before Markus could say anything in response, Lance lowered his aiming visor and raised his gunblade. Six shots went off in rapid succession and the bullets slammed through the six bombs Markus had placed in the cliff, disarming them. The gunner flickered out of sight a moment later, using the enhanced speed he'd received from Anna's reflex spell. He appeared flipping off the cliff wall in a dive above Markus' head.

The man made a _tch_ sound and flung himself backwards from the rest as Lance blasted the ground at his feet with a Plasma Wave. The gunner hit the ground on one hand and flipped to his feet. He lunged forwards with his gunblade leveled in one hand. He swung at Markus and when the man dodged, Lance's fist curved to catch his jaw. Markus went careening a few feet back where he skidded across the ground before flipping to his feet. He spat out a short spurt of blood and wiped his mouth.

Lance's eyes met his father's with an expressionless look as his friends cheered from behind him. "That felt pretty good," he said calmly. "Okay, Matt, you can come help now with the usual hack and slash. Natalie, use nothing but ice spells. I don't know if his cloak doesn't protect him from ice, or if it's the impact force that makes them work, and I don't really care, I just know it does. Anna, why don't you open this next part up with some arrows from your new bow? Aim for his left side; he's favoring that knee."

Markus sneered at his son and drew a blade from under his cloak. Matt's eyes narrowed on it, judging its length and capabilities. The General wielded a heavy dagger about a foot and a half long in his right hand. His left hand was kept free for grabbing and punching. The blade bent strangely with the sharp edge inside the curve, and was made of red steel. The hand guard completely covered his grip and the entire blade seemed to glow. For the moment, the two sides merely watched each other.

"It's a modified kukri knife," Matt murmured.

Lance spared him a brief glance, but turned his attention back to the upcoming fight. "I've never seen or heard of one before," he admitted. "What should I look out for?"

"Traditionally, it's a slashing weapon as well as a tool. He won't have to turn his wrist as much to slash with it," Matt said quietly. "The hand guard is a new addition, though; they don't normally have those. The blade is probably heavier and thicker to compensate for the added weight to the hilt, and maintain a balance. That bend in the blade will work as a saw when he slashes, and it can cut through bone easily."

"Nice to know you know the specifics of weaponry," Lance commented with a smirk.

Matt grinned, "Only blades, really. And some hammers and axes. It's an interest."

The pair lunged forwards on some unspoken signal. An arrow appeared in the ground just past Markus' leg, the weight of Anna's bow causing her to miss. An ice spike shot past, nicking the general's arm, and tearing the coat. Lance swung at Markus' legs while Matt went for his chest. The man threw himself in a dive between their attacks and caught Matt's arm as he passed with his blade.

Blood splattered on the stone, and Matt let out a hiss as the wound cauterized in its pass. The blade had a fire enchantment. A flash of healing from Natalie took away the pain and Matt turned with Lance to attack again. A regular arrow flew down this time, Anna had switched to a bow she knew she could hit with for the fight. Markus twisted aside to dodge, but still was scraped, and ended up straight in the path of Lance's gunblade. The kukri came up to block the blow, backed by the general's hand. Still, he was flung into the canyon wall with a shower of stone and dust.

Lance fell back to stand near Matt and waited for the next round. He felt confident that they could win the fight, but refused to relax until he could take a pulse and confirm his father's death. Markus burst out of the stone, ignoring Matt and Lance, and dove for where Super Snipe was discarded on the ground. He swung it around to bear and unleased an instantaneous Hyper Beam on Natalie and Anna. Lance's eyes widened and Matt let out a shout.

When the attack passed, Natalie smirked down at him from behind her barrier. "A good try," she mocked.

Markus sneered at her and shifted his sight to the stone beneath their feet. A second blast went off, destroying their footing, and sending the two women toppling to the ground, stunned. By this point, however, Matt had lunged forwards with his teeth bared to attack Markus' back. The general dodged the stab and brought the butt off the rifle down on Matt's arm. The swordsman gritted his teeth and kept his grip, but felt the kukri knife tear across his side.

Lance, still boosted by Anna's reflex tackled Markus away from Matt as the swordsman let out a sharp cry. Super Snipe hit the ground as father and son rolled across the ground in a grapple, Lance's left hand gripped the wrist bearing the knife, his left hand held the other hand away. His gunblade lay discarded on the ground behind him. Markus got both his feet against Lance's stomach and forced him off, sending the gunner flying into the wall. The general got up, sweat on his face, but otherwise looking calm.

"Not bad this time," he commented.

Lance got up as well with a scowl. He was disarmed and pulling out a new weapon would take precious seconds that he didn't have. On top of that, Markus had positioned himself behind a stone to provide himself cover from all ranged attacks. Except one, Lance realized. With a fierce grin, he snatched his handheld radio from his belt and spoke into it.

Natalie let out a cry too late, "Wait!"

"Firing protocols all green. Orbital Lock established. Target acquired, commencing laser bombardment," Lance said grimly. He would get caught in the blast for sure, but it would take his father down. Lance slipped the radio away and touched two fingers to his head in a mocking salute to his father and said with a smirk, "I have the bigger gun here, bastard."

Markus' eyes narrowed in confusion before widening as he felt the influx of mana. A split second later, and a massive blast of energy slammed into him. Lance felt Natalie's Barrier come up at the same moment he felt a Guardian spell from Anna. He hoped they would be enough to protect him. Light and sound exploded around him and his father. Lance's eyes squeezed shut and covered his face with his arms. A second later, and the ground gave out, sending him plummeting down.

There was an extended moment of weightlessness, and then Lance hit the ground hard. He let out a cough as the air was forced from his lungs, but immediately rolled as far as possible to dodge falling debris from the hole. The Ion salvo ended, but the shower of stone and dirt continued for some time. Lance felt several stones clatter on him, but none big enough to hurt. Finally, it ended, leaving him in darkness and silence.

Lance let out a groan and sat up. He tested his limbs and found them sore, but unbroken. Next, he ran his hands over his body to check for wounds that adrenalin might be preventing him from feeling. His hand came away wet with blood as it ran across his side. Lance grunted, and focused on his healing magic, praying that the wound was simple enough for him to heal. Before he could even really begin, he heard a low chuckle, and froze.

"I commend your ruthlessness in that last attack," Markus' voice rasped from the shadows. He let out a wet cough and added, "I never thought you'd try a blast that strong given the location."

Lance turned his head, trying to locate the man, but it was pitch black. Markus sounded wounded, but Lance wasn't going to provide any light to reveal his own location. His father seemed to read his mind, as he began speaking again.

"I know you can make light, boy," he wheezed. "I won't be attacking you now, so you might as well."

Lance hesitated for a moment longer, and then decided, he would need light to attack anyway. His red crystal flared to full brightness, illuminating the cave with a crimson light. Instantly, he spotted Markus half buried up to his shoulders in the landfill. Half the man's face was burned beyond recognition, the other half still held a light of complete calm and arrogance.

Lance pushed himself to his feet, staring at the man. "About damn time you were taken down," he muttered.

A throb from his side reminded him of his wound and Lance turned his attention to it. The gash was long, but shallow, and healing it was surprisingly easy. Then, he turned his gaze back to his father. There were things he wanted to know, and this would be his only opportunity to learn the answers.

"Why?" he asked softly. "Why did you raise me as you did? What could you possibly have hoped to achieve?"

Markus snorted, "Why do men do anything? For power, for glory, for money, or, as in my case, to reclaim what was lost."

Lance scowled, "Get to the point, old man."

"Such impatience," Markus coughed. "I wanted the resurrection of our kingdom."

"A kingdom," Lance repeated flatly. "What the hell does that have to do with me?"

Markus fixed him with an intense, one-eyed stare, "You are the sole successor. You come from a long and ancient line of warriors, fighters, and kings dating all the way back to when Godcat ruled the earth. I had hoped you could rebuild the land anew, but you were weak."

Lance stilled as his mind flew back to when Anna had translated the sealed room in Godcat's temple, and revealed the weapons locations. Anna's voice echoed in his head, " _Apparently, it was kept by a powerful warlord's family…The descendants of the family were eventually scattered and the rifle was lost._ "

An angry swell filled Lance along with a wave of realization. "Don't blame me for your own weakness, _General_ ," he hissed furiously with contemptuous emphasis on Markus' title. "You couldn't resurrect it on your own, so you thought destroying an innocent boy's life to continue your own damn mission was the best way to achieve your goal."

Markus' one eye narrowed, "It is your weakness too, boy."

Lance let out a laugh, "Hardly. You wanted to resurrect an empire of warfare that had already fallen once. I wanted to create a world of order and peace. We both failed, but where I changed for the better, you wallowed in the past. You could have built your own damn empire, but you, who always prided himself on his ability to plan, failed to look ahead."

Markus' eye widened, and his mouth cracked open, but Lance swept on, mercilessly.

"On top of that, you're a lone wolf. What kind of empire has no army?" Lance asked mockingly. "You disparaged any who needed allies, and it led to your downfall. If there had been even one more fighter on your side today, I'm sure you would have won, or at the very least killed one of us." His voice fell to a low hiss as he went on, "But look at you now. You're buried under several tons of stone with your ' _weak son_ ' standing over you, triumphant—thanks to the help of his team. And he won't be making the other mistake you did. Never leave a potential threat alive."

Fire flickered in Lance's palm. It reflected in his furious eyes, giving him a demonic look. Markus' own eye showed just how broken Lance had made him. Lance had neatly slashed his philosophies to ribbons. Had he gathered support, he could have been ruling the world years ago. Had he perhaps raised Lance to know his supposed birthright, he'd have had a powerful ally. Had he killed Anna, he would have won the fight today. He watched with fear in his eyes as the fire swirl up his son's arm.

Lance noted the look. "There it is. Fear. You fear death, and maybe that was part of your drive: a need to immortalize yourself as the triumphant ruler of a powerful empire. But you will never be that. I put your shadow to rest today, forever. You'll haunt me and my friends no more, _father_. I'm sure the gods will enjoy torturing your blackened soul in the next life. Thanks for the skills and weapons," Lance murmured in a chilling voice.

With that, he let the fire in his hand loose on his father's face. The man screamed piercingly for an entire minute as the flames blackened his flesh and traveled along his body. His cloak might have protected him, had Lance not been carefully guiding the flames to bypass the cloth. He watched with cold eyes as Markus burned.

When the screams died, Lance let out a sigh of relief. He could no longer sense any mana from the blackened husk before him. His father was dead. Markus would no longer threaten him or his friends. He would no longer aid Origin in their own sick goals. Just to be sure, he slammed a large chunk of rock on the remains of the General's head, crumbling the incinerated skull, the brains already turned to ash. Then, he turned from the spot and looked up at the ruined ceiling.

Lance stared up intently, wondering if the others were still up there. He wasn't sure how far he had fallen, but he figured he could walk out. The Ion Blast had sent him into the tunnel network below the mountains that NoLegs had mentioned. And since Markus had used them to get about the mountains, there must be several passages out. Lance blew out a sigh and started walking.

"Too bad the others need the furball to lead them out," he muttered. "I could use a hive-mind guide right now."


	21. Chapter 21

Anna sank to her knees in disbelief as she watched the rocks collapse into a massive hole, right where Lance had been standing. She distantly heard Natalie scream the gunner's name, but the cry sounded as though it was coming from far away. She didn't see the cracks spreading to where she sat, but Matt did.

Matt snagged Anna around the waist and threw her to safety. He yelled at Natalie to move as he leapt towards where Lance's weapons lay discarded on the ground. He snatched both Super Snipe and the gunblade up, and lunged for safety just as the ground began to sag beneath his feet. The swordsman dove to where the cracks had stopped, and skidded across the ground to Natalie's feet.

Natalie knelt beside Matt with Anna slumped on the ground behind her, and NoLegs pressed against her side, fluffed out in shock. All four of them stared at the devastation left by Lance's Ion Cannon. Natalie desperately sought out Lance's mana, but the residual traces from the blast made it impossible for the moment. Matt sat up, letting the weapons he'd saved fall to the ground. He glared at the devastation.

"I'm going to gut him when I see him again," Matt grumbled. His eyes turned to the rest, "Everyone here okay?"

"Meow!"

"I'm fine," Natalie said faintly.

Anna sniffled and sat up, but didn't say anything.

Matt scooted back to pat her shoulder, "Lance is fine, Anna, don't worry. He's tough, after all, right?"

Anna nodded, eyes brightening some and she gave him a wobbly smile, "Right."

Matt grinned and shot a look at Natalie. "Can you sense how far down Lance is?" he asked.

Natalie shook her head, "Not until the mana settles again. I'll let you know in a few minutes. Of course, he might move in that time."

"Check for Markus too, though I doubt he survived a direct hit from the Cannon," Matt said. He twisted to look at the rubble blocking the canyon behind them, "Since I don't trust the stability of that ground, we'll have to go over this to get out. We can start climbing once we know how Lance is doing. For now, let's take five."

NoLegs shifted to sit in Anna's lap, purring. The ranger stroked his back absently, eyes fixed on the destruction wrought by the Ion Cannon. She'd wanted to see the weapon in action for a long time, and she had to admit it was devastatingly powerful. Still, she wished Lance had used it when _not_ in the blast radius. She would have to complain at him when she saw him again.

Natalie hummed with a frown, "I can sense Lance now. He seems to be fairly strong. Markus is still alive, but badly weakened."

Matt stilled and stared at her in shock, "He's still _alive_?! What the hell?"

Anna spoke up, "It was probably his damn cloak again. I'm sure Lance'll finish him off."

Even as she spoke, Natalie gave a small cheer, "And the bastard's mana is gone! He's dead!"

Matt sprang up with a fist in the air, "Yes! Way to go Lance! I won't gut you when I see you now!"

NoLegs piped from where he was curled in Anna's lap. Natalie translated for him, "He says Lance is moving along the tunnels below the mountains. He'll pop over to him when he gets out."

"Good," Anna said with a massive sigh of relief and stood up. NoLegs tumbled down from her lap with a protesting meow. The ranger shot him an apologetic smile and turned her eyes to the pile of rocks. "This is going to be a nerve-wracking climb," she told the others.

"How so?" Matt asked with a frown. He scooped up Lance's weapons and stuffed them in his Adventure Pouch.

"Some of the boulders will be loose, and we won't be able to tell which ones basically until we step on them," Anna replied. "I'll go first since I have the best balance. Step exactly where I step, and we should be good."

Natalie stood with a nod, "Okay, let's go."

The ranger began carefully clambering over the rocks. She carefully tested her weight on each one before setting her foot down entirely. The going was smooth until halfway up when she picked one that seemed safe, but tipped once her full weight was on it. Luckily, Matt pressed his shoulder against the stone, steadying it until Anna could hop down. That was the only trouble they had getting up.

Once on top of the pile, their eyes fell on a perfect view of the countryside past the mountain range. There was a stretch of forest and past that was a glittering strip of blue water. Matt grinned widely as he recognized a few places, despite not having seen them for some years.

"Look, Natz: it's Village!" Matt said with a smile, pointing at a small town at the edge of the forest.

Natalie nodded with a grin of her own, "That brings back some memories. It's been awhile since we've been to Village. It looks a little bigger than before."

Anna cocked her head and glanced at them, "Village? Doesn't it have a name?"

Matt shrugged and shook his head, "Nah, it's the only one for miles and miles, so they just call it Village. We can rest up there once we rejoin with Lance." He shivered as a chilly gust swept past him and added, "It'll be nice to have some occupied walls again. It feels like it's going to snow."

NoLeg's mewed and popped out of sight. "He says Lance just got out of the tunnels, so he's going to guide him to the town," Natalie said as Anna began to pick the path down.

"He'll love that," Matt chuckled. "Quality time with the furball."

Anna snorted, but said nothing. Slowly, they descended the pile of stones. Each person heaved a sigh of relief once they were back on solid ground. Anna switched her bow back to Iron Tooth, and gestured for Matt to take the lead. While they walked, the ranger practiced aiming and firing with her new bow with its heavier arrows. She shot at random trees in the cliff walls, the occasional monster, and at cracks. At first, her shots missed more often than they hit, but slowly, Anna became used to the flight path of her new bow. Eventually, the draw weight was the only thing throwing her aim off and it was only a slight mess up.

"Not bad, Anna," Matt commented as the ranger knocked a blackbird clean out of the sky almost as soon as it had appeared. "It only took you until we hit the end of the trail to master your new bow."

Anna nodded with satisfaction, "Yeah, I think I've got the hang of it now. Too bad it wasn't in time to hit Markus."

Natalie patted her shoulder, but before she could say anything, hooded assassins burst out of the bushes and trees on all sides. The mage violently flinched back against Matt with wide eyes. However, she didn't scream, nor did she slip into a blind panic. Still, her heart rate shot up along with her fear. Matt drew Equilibrium with one hand and wrapped his other arm around the mage. Anna nocked an arrow on her bow and glared at the assassins.

"Hand over the mage," one hooded man ordered.

Anna's reply was to release her arrow, sending it straight through the man, and the three behind him. "Next idiot want to demand something ridiculous?" she asked coldly.

The assassins shuffled uncomfortably, but didn't speak. Finally, one brave but foolish soul called the cry for battle and lunged forwards. And though he was sliced nearly in half by Matt, the others leapt forwards as well. A crackle of lightning incinerated five men in that first wave; Natalie, pale-faced but determined, refused to be a dead weight in battle any longer. Matt and Anna never strayed far from Natalie, which made fighting difficult. There were a lot of assassins, and they had to keep an eye on the enemy as well as each other.

Matt gritted his teeth as a blade sliced past his side, and he took the arm off of the man who hit him. Barely a second later, and the swordsman felt all of his muscles freeze up, and he collapsed. Natalie was at his side in an instant, casting healing magic. Anna slashed at one man with the machete on her bow before she drew her dagger. The ranger called on a gust of wind, which toppled three more, but it seemed as though there was a never ending wave of the assassins. Natalie was taking care of Matt, who she assumed had been poisoned, which left her as the only fighter.

The sight of only one woman with a dagger as their opponent emboldened the assassins. They lunged forwards with renewed vigor. Anna slashed, stabbed, and whirled, her dagger taking down several more enemies, and her magic aiding her, but she knew it was a losing battle. Then, she heard the most beautiful sound of her entire life. NoLegs hit the scene screeching obscenities in cat with his short sword whirling, and Lance blasted a huge row of the enemy with a wave of fire from Shadow Blaster.

"Nice to see you made it," Anna called with a grin.

Lance smirked, "Like I'd let my own attack kill me?" He unleashed another Flame Blast, clearing the way for him to dart to his friends' sides.

Matt, finally cured of his poison, staggered to his feet and lunged back into battle. He grinned fiercely as he brought Equilibrium across three men, killing all of them. Natalie raised her staff and a cyclone of fire engulfed five more. The heroes' rally caused the survivors to flee the fight in a panic. Matt sent their backs a rude hand gesture and then turned to Lance with a grin. He dug into his Adventure Pouch and returned the gunner's weapons that he'd saved from the collapse.

"Swooping in to save the day, huh?" Matt asked with his fist held out. He grinned when NoLegs gave a protesting mew and added, "And, of course: thank you, too, NoLegs."

Lance bumped the offered fist with a smirk, "Lucky timing."

Natalie beamed up at him, "I'm glad you're okay. And that Markus is dead."

The gunner nodded, "The bastard survived the blast, but I killed him. You're going to love his reasoning, by the way."

"Oh, boy, this is going to be stupid," Anna muttered as she moved forwards to give Lance a tight hug.

Lance nodded, "Oh, yeah. He wanted me to resurrect some ancient empire of which he claimed I'm a prince in. That's how he got Super Snipe. It's an heirloom."

Matt rolled his eyes, "Uh, huh, and he didn't do it himself because…?"

Natalie snorted, "Because he sucked, duh."

"Basically, yeah," Lance agreed.

"What a great reason. Truly a worthy goal to fuck your son up over," Anna grunted. She shook her head and beamed up at Lance, "I'm so glad you're free of him now. You ready to get some rest at Village?"

Lance snorted, "I still think it's weird to call it Village and not _the_ village. But yes, let's go snag a room at the inn. We can rest up there for tonight and head out again tomorrow."

The rest of the party nodded and fell in step behind Matt as he led the way through the narrow stretch of trees. Natalie stuck very close to Matt, nervous of more assassin attacks. Anna stayed directly beside Lance, occasionally shooting him a look of fond exasperation. They broke out of the trees beside a small plot of farmland and a cluster of small wooden houses just past it. Anna looked around the space, thinking with a small twinge of loss that the town reminded her of Greenwood.

An older man came walking across the field, headed for a well with a bucket in his hands. He paused at the sight of the four of them and blinked in confusion before his face lit up with recognition. "Why, if it isn't Matt, Lance, and Natalie; it's been awhile, how have you three been?" the man called with a cheerful grin.

Matt stepped forwards with a cheerful smile, "Honestly, we've been better, but we're okay right now. How're things around here?"

Anna glanced up at Lance, "Who's he?"

"His name's Ralph, and he's one of the townsfolk here. We landed in his field after Akron drained us," Lance replied after a moment.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked with a small frown, her eyes scanning Lance's face.

Lance shot her a small smile, "Yeah, just a little tired is all. It's been a stressful day, which is a bit of an understatement."

They turned their attention back to the conversation when they heard Natalie ask if cloaked people had been sighted in the village. Ralph shrugged with a nod, but explained that the townspeople and the guard didn't like them, and often wouldn't even let them enter the town, but the assassins hung around in the woods anyway. The answer both relieved the party and made them wonder what was here that was of interest to Origin.

The old man turned his eyes on Anna, "I don't suppose you know a young woman from Greenwood named Sarah do you? You like quite a lot like her."

Anna stilled some and her face shut down as she murmured, "She… she was my sister."

"Was? Did your family disown her or something?" Ralph asked with a frown.

Anna remained silent, but Natalie quietly spoke up, "Greenwood's villagers were all killed by the cloaked assassins. Anna's the only survivor."

The man's face was horrified, but there was also a light of relief in his eyes. He muttered obscenities under his breath for a moment before saying, "Not all of them. Sarah is alive and currently staying at my house. She's been wondering why her letters home are never returned, but I guess I know why now."

There was a long moment of silence as the four stared at the old man. Then, Matt's face spread in a wide, incredulous smile as he asked, "Can we see her?"

"Of course you can. Follow me." Ralph said with a small smile.

He turned and led the way with the other four following close behind him. Lance led Anna with an arm around her shoulder. The ranger was stunned, wondering how this miracle was possible. Natalie was thinking the same thing and glanced at the ranger.

"Any ideas on how Sarah got here, Anna?" Natalie asked quietly.

Anna wracked her brain for an answer, but all she could come up with was, "I… I don't know. I was pretty shell-shocked when I was digging graves, and trying to… to not look at the bodies. Maybe… maybe I just missed that she wasn't there?" Inwardly, she felt awful for not realizing her own sister was out of the village at the time. She couldn't recall Sarah saying she was going anywhere prior to the attack. "Gods, how do I even begin to tell her what happened? I didn't even know she was here…"

Lance squeezed Anna's shoulders, "Hey, we'll help."

Matt nodded, glancing back at Anna, "And I seem to recall that Sarah had a tendency to run off unannounced, at least in the time we've known her. Let's just be glad that she was out of the village at the time."

Ralph piped up to mention, "She's been seeing my grandson for the last year or so. I didn't realize she was out here without permission."

Natalie frowned as a thought struck her just as they reached the farmer's house, "I bet she's the reason the assassins are here."

Anna froze with a wide-eyed, terrified look, "You're right…"

Before anything else could be said, the front door opened and a familiar green-haired girl bounced out with a bow over one shoulder, followed by a young man with short brown hair and a sword at his waist. Sarah froze at the sight of Anna, while Anna stared back with a pale face. To the ranger, it was like seeing a ghost as she had thought everyone in Greenwood had been killed.

"Anna!" Sarah chirped, dashing forwards to embrace her sister. "I was just talking with John about going back to Greenwood to find out why you weren't writing back. You'll be happy to hear I finally learned how to use a bow like you've been nagging me about." She was oblivious to Anna's suddenly stiff frame. Soon, however, she noticed Anna wasn't responding and she pulled back, eyes scanning Anna's face. She frowned when she spotted the tears in the ranger's eyes, "Anna?"

Suddenly, Anna threw her arms around Sarah and burst into sobs. Her sister started in confusion and concern, but returned the hug, whispering soothing words in her ear. Sarah glanced up at Matt, Lance, and Natalie in askance, but they each merely shook their heads with somber looks. Finally, John stepped forwards.

"Why don't we talk inside?" John suggested quietly. He knew by the looks on the visitor's faces that the news they brought wasn't good.

Anna peeled herself away from Sarah and wiped her arm across her face as she nodded, "Y-yeah, good idea."

The group filed indoors and Ralph slipped off to the kitchen to make some tea. The rest of the group settled down around the large table and sat in silence. Anna's eyes were fixed on Sarah, still hardly able to believe she wasn't the only one left. Sarah still looked baffled at her sister's reactions, exchanged a glance with her boyfriend. Lance rubbed a soothing hand across Anna's back, while Matt and Natalie remained still and quiet. Finally, Ralph came back with a stack of ceramic glasses and a steaming pot of tea. He poured the tea and passed them around before settling down on John's other side.

Anna sipped at her tea before setting it down to murmur, "I'm sorry I didn't reply to your messages, Sarah. I didn't even know you were still around. Greenwood's…" She trailed off with a helpless look at Lance.

"Greenwood's… what? What's wrong?" Sarah asked. She felt a creeping sense of horror that she knew what was coming however.

Matt was the one who responded. He met her eyes and said in a quiet voice, "About six months ago, a group of cloaked assassins killed all of the villagers while Anna was fighting off a monster called the Primordial. She thought you were among the bodies she buried."

Sarah's eyes widened and horrified her gaze jerked back to Anna, "Is… is that true?"

Anna nodded eyes fixed on the wooden table top as she whispered, "I'm sorry."

Sarah's face was white and she sank down in her chair as tears built in her eyes. John reached over and tightly grasped her hand. The girl glanced at him with a wobbly smile before it faded as she turned back to Anna. She stretched her free hand across the table to rest it on Anna's as she murmured, "It wasn't your fault, Anna. I'm sure of that."

Anna looked up, "I was a little worried you'd blame me for it…"

"Never," Sarah said with a firm shake of her head. "I know you would have done whatever possible to save them." She drew a shuddering breath as she asked, "Is… there anything I can do to help? I'm sure you're out here tracking down the people who did it."

Anna was surprised at how calmly her sister was handling the news. She supposed that not being there to witness what had happened helped, but still… The ranger searched her sister's face and realized that Sarah was holding herself together for her own sake. Her sister likely knew how upset Anna was, and wanted to be strong for her sake. Anna felt a flood of warmth and relief as she wasn't sure she could comfort Sarah when she herself had not yet come to terms with what had happened.

"There isn't much you can do, but…" Anna trailed off with a glance at her friends.

Natalie piped up, "You need to stay out of sight. The cloaked people popping in and out of town are part of the same group that is responsible for the massacre. They want any trace of Greenwood wiped out to protect some secrets. We killed a bunch of them in the woods not too long ago, but I'm sure they're here looking for you."

John's face hardened, "They'll get her over my dead body."

Lance shot him an approving glance and nodded, "Good attitude to take. We took out one of their commanders in the mountains this morning so they'll be disorganized. If you could get the town guard to flush out and kill or capture any around here, we'd be beyond grateful."

"Consider it done," Ralph said instantly. "The guards have wanted a reason to get rid of them for a while. You can tell they're blood thirsty just by looking at them. I'll go speak to the captain right away."

With that, the older man stood up and bushed out the door. Lance turned his eyes back to John and Sarah and went on, "Sarah, don't go _anywhere_ alone. Stay here with John and Ralph until we've taken care of this mess. We'll send word once we think it's safe."

"And please, please, _please_ don't try to get revenge," Anna pleaded. "I don't want to come back and find out I'm the only one left and have it be true."

Sarah blew out a sigh and nodded, "I know, and I promise that I won't go after them. I've gotten really good with a bow, but I'm still new to fighting. I doubt I'd be able to kill them even if I found them. Still, at least I can defend myself if it comes to that."

Anna's face quirked into a small smile, "I admit that I'm a little stunned that you finally picked up archery."

John smiled as well with a fond glance at Sarah, "She did it to go on hunting trips with me. She's a natural with it, though she always insists you're far better."

"I'll probably never be better than you, Anna, but I am pretty good," Sarah said with a small grin. "You were right that I would have an easy time with it."

Ralph walked back in and announced, "The guard is gathering now. They already know where the assassin's campsite is, and will be heading out shortly. They want to know if you will be joining them."

Matt exchanged looks with his friends before shaking his head, "No, unless they need us. We've had a rough couple of days and are exhausted. Besides, Natz isn't okay to be around them right now."

Natalie nodded with a downcast expression, "Sorry…"

Ralph shook his head, "It's fine. I mentioned that you all looked tired, and the captain said not to feel pressured to join and that they have it under control. A few mercenaries and other fighters who know either your team or Sarah will be joining them. You all can rest here for as long as you need to." He then headed back out the door to relay their message.

Lance gave a small smirk and a sigh, "Nice to be back in a place filled with fighters."

John stood up, "Would you like something to eat?"

Matt perked up with a wide smile, "Yes! What do you have?"

"Fresh venison, some stored vegetables, and plenty of drinks," John replied. "We can do some basic roasting and steaming."

Natalie's face quirked in a smile, "Sounds delicious, but I bet Matt will only eat the meat and drink."

Sarah stood up to follow John into the kitchen. She paused at the door and glanced back at Anna, "I'm really glad you're safe, Anna. I'm sure you think that what happened could have been avoided, and maybe it could have been, but you shouldn't dwell on that. Keep in mind how our people have always viewed death, and remember that they would want you to remember and honor how they lived, not mourn how they died."

Anna stared after her sister's back as she vanished into the kitchen. She shook her head with a soft smile. Her sister had grown so mature in the last couple of years, and it was a relief she also had someone she could lean on. Just in the brief time that she'd seen John, she could see that he adored Sarah and that Sarah adored him. It was good to know her sister had finally found someone to love, and that it was real love this time.

Lance was watching Anna's face as various emotions flickered across it: surprise, contemplation, and finally acceptance and pride. He sent a silent thanks to Sarah for knowing what to say to help Anna further. The gunner crossed his arms on the table and rested his head on them with a sigh and shut his eyes, listening to the clatter of pots and platters from the kitchen. He glanced up again when he felt a hand touch his shoulder to see that Anna was looking at him worriedly.

"You holding up okay?" Anna asked quietly. "I know that fight with Markus was stressful."

Lance shot her a small smile, "Yeah, I promise I'm fine. And really, it wasn't so bad looking back. I was more scared of the memories of him than I was of him as he was today. But now he's gone, and I'll never have to worry about him again."

Matt nodded, "Good. You did awesome out there today."

Natalie sipped at her cooling tea before asking, "Do you think the teleport stones are still working? I really don't want to hike through Vegetable Forest and Rock Lake again."

"Probably, but even if they aren't, it won't be as bad this time through. Plus, we'll be able to take a ship across the bay, if it comes to walking," Matt replied with a grin.

Anna shrugged, "I've never been here before, so I don't know the areas. I'd rather not get on a boat, though. Would it be a long hike?"

Lance pursed his lips in thought for a moment before shrugging, "Probably three to four days, I'd say. If we can use the crystal, then it'll be less than one, plus whatever time we spend searching the volcano."

"That's not too bad," Anna mused. She glanced towards the kitchen where she could hear Sarah laughing at something John had said. Her eyes darkened with worry and she turned to Matt, "Can we leave NoLegs here as a guard? I know the villagers, John, and Ralph will look after Sarah, but I'd feel better if he was looking out for her, too."

Matt nodded, "That's a good plan. We might need him when we summon Godcat, but until then, we can leave him here."

The swordsman summoned NoLegs who appeared with a bright meow. He listened to Matt's request to watch over Sarah, but stay out of sight when possible, and nodded before rubbing his head on Anna's leg. He vanished again just before Sarah and John walked back in with platters of cooked venison and steamed vegetables. Ralph strolled in the door just as they'd finished serving themselves, and Matt had inhaled half of his food. The company was friendly and the food good.

Finally, they finished eating and John directed the party to a couple of rooms they could use while they were there. Lance claimed a room with Anna, prompting both Matt and Natalie to request they keep it down. Sarah choked on a mouthful of water and gaped at her blushing sister for a moment. Then her mouth widened in a smirk and she told them to 'have fun' before waving them off. Lance chuckled at Anna's expression as she buried her burning face into his shoulder. His grin dropped into a pout when Ralph said no funny business under his roof, or they'd be chopping wood for the entirety of the next day. The gunner rolled his eyes, but agreed to not take Anna for a roll before bidding the others good night.

Anna grinned into Lance's shoulder and mumbled, "We'll just have to keep it down, huh?"

"Like you could manage that," Lance snorted as he shut the door to their room. "Besides, stained sheets would be a bit hard to explain away."

"True," Anna sighed with a pout and dropped her bow on the dresser before moving to flop on the bed. "Nice mattress. It's good to be sleeping on one again." She cracked one eye open and watched Lance pull his jacket off and lean his weapons within easy reach of the bed.

Lance lay down beside Anna with an appreciative hum, "Yeah. I think the team should invest in a house with real beds, not the nearest overhang, thicket, cave, or inn room."

Anna snorted, "And we'd never use it because we'd never be near it."

"We could always invest in a teleport crystal, too. Gods know we've got the money for it what with all the money we make off of fighting monsters and such," Lance said with a grin.

Anna laughed, but didn't reply for a long while. She stared at the ceiling in thought before murmuring, "Do you think it'll ever be safe enough to get a house?"

Lance rolled his head to the side to look at Anna. He saw the uncertainty on her face, and knew what she was thinking. "Sure. Origin won't last forever. Their days were numbered as soon as they attacked Greenwood, and we're the stronger force," he said confidently. He reached a hand over to grasp Anna's hand reassuringly, "We'll pull through this, Anna, I promise."

"It won't ever be the same, though," Anna mumbled sadly.

Lance nodded, "You're right that it won't, but we can make the best of what we have. Besides, things are already better than they were even just last week, right?"

Anna smiled, "True. Markus is dead, Natz is on the mend, and Sarah is still alive."

"Exactly, and we only have one more weapon to nab and then we'll go hand another god its ass," Lance said with a smirk. He sat up and leaned over to press a kiss to Anna's cheek before saying, "Let's get some sleep, we've got a lot of hiking to do tomorrow."

"True," Anna sighed.

She and Lance stood up and tugged the sheets down to crawl under. Anna tucked her dagger under her pillow as she always did anymore and leaned her back into Lance's chest. The stress, excitement, and emotion of the day quickly caught up to them. Anna murmured a soft "Love you" to Lance and fell asleep halfway through his mumbled reply.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you for that goes to Florarena Kitasatina. They collaborated with me to write this and it was a lot of fun! I'd never done a collab before, and I'm glad they put up with all the wired hours and interruption to do it!

"Sarah, wait up!" John shouted followed by a loud meow.

The voices woke Natalie and Lance, but the subsequent slam of the front door was what woke Matt and Anna up. The party each burst out of their rooms with their weapons in hand, but the house was silent. Anna lowered her dagger and glanced around at the others. Clearly, she hadn't dreamt the door slam if the other three were awake.

"What's going on?" Matt asked through a yawn. "It's the middle of the night."

Natalie frowned and said, "I could have sworn I heard John shouting for Sarah to wait up."

Anna stiffened and was gone in the next second. Lance shot after her grumbling, "Darting off must run in their family."

Matt and Natalie followed right behind Lance and Anna. They burst out the door, narrowly missing crashing in to Ralph who shouted something about a prison break. Once outside, they heard the sounds of shouting and fighting. Snow drifted lazily from the sky and had only barely begun to coat the ground.

Anna was several yards ahead of the rest of the party when she suddenly dove into a roll, narrowly dodging a blade in the shadows. The ranger came up and lunged at the figure with her dagger flashing. The familiar hooded form of an Origin assassin hit the ground with a bloody rip across his throat. Anna didn't slow down, though the brief altercation gave the rest of the party a chance to catch up.

They rounded the corner of a house, revealing the center of the town. Decorative trees grew in various locations, and a large sculpture with a gleaming yellow star rested in the center of the clearing. The party's attention was focused on the many cloaked forms of Origin's assassins that were locked in a bloody struggle against the night watch of the town and whatever fighters had already arrived at the scene. The poor lighting made most of the combat seem to merely be writhing shadows, but the occasional flash of light off of a weapon could be seen, and people gave battle cries and shouts of pain.

Matt fell back to shadow Natalie as she began casting a large Thunderstorm spell. Lance and Anna threw themselves into battle alongside each other. Anna lashed out with her dagger, pushing through the combat, searching desperately for her sister. If John had been calling for Sarah to wait up, then the girl must have heard the battle going on and run off to help, regardless of her own safety. And Anna had to find her, to make sure she was safe.

A flash of lightning lit the area in stark relief for a few seconds as the bolts arced around the battlefield, striking the assassin's, but missing the townspeople. In those brief moments, Anna saw Sarah kneeling beside John, who was on the ground, gripping a gash on his side. Anna leapt forwards with a shout, barely aware of Lance at her side, cutting an assassin down.

The ranger's heart stopped when she saw an assassin appear out of the throng, headed straight for Sarah as the girl was distracted by John. NoLegs appeared out of nowhere to defend the girl, but was slammed aside by a bewildering series of slashes followed by a kick that sent him into a tree. She watched Sarah jerk back at the cat's screech of pain that abruptly cut off. Still, the brief warning was not enough as the girl carried only a bow, and the arrow she pulled out to stab with was sliced through by a dagger. The blade swept back across, catching Sarah across the stomach, and sending her to the ground alongside John with a pained cry.

Time seemed to slow down for Anna as she watched Sarah hit the ground and lay still. Her mind flashed back to the scene many months ago as she burst out of the trees to find the bodies of Greenwood's villagers torn and bloody across a clearing. The smirk the assassin had before her now was eerily similar to the ones responsible for the slaughter. And Anna's reaction was much the same as it was before.

Lance watched with horror as Sarah was cut down barely four feet away from them. But before he could bring his attention to Anna, the ground suddenly heaved. He heard an eerie creaking groan that was soon drowned out by an inhuman howl from Anna. His head snapped up to gape at the ranger and he took a half step back. Her face was set in an animalistic snarl he'd never seen on her before. Flickering green light engulfed her body and rapidly spread out across the ground in arcane, snaking tendrils. Everywhere that was touched by the light, plants burst up, trees writhed and twisted, and glowing, viridian tendrils of thorns erupted from the ground.

The fighting abruptly stopped as plants burst upwards. The plants responded to Anna's call, violently lashing out at any cloaked figures. Yells of surprise and screams of pain and fear erupted all around.

Lance watched with horrified fascination as spears of wood ripped through some of the assassins, holding them in place as their blood dripped down the shafts. Thorns entangled other ones, slowly constricting and applying an incredibly virulent poison that rapidly degraded flesh. Those that tried to flee found their legs entangled by the grass, and struggled as the plants rapidly grew to completely encase them. The gunner shuddered as he saw them constrict and blood leaked out between the blades.

Matt and Natalie skidded to a stop beside Lance, faces pale as they gaped at Anna. The ranger continued her merciless assault on the assassins. The other fighters slowly lowered their weapons and watched wide-eyed as the assassins died, some swiftly, others agonizingly slowly; they had no idea what the hell had happened. Some took the interference with relief, knowing they had been outmatched and under a surprise attack. Others shuddered with fear, wondering if they were next.

Natalie suddenly gripped Lance's arm as Anna continued to pour more power into her assault. "You have to stop her, Lance! Channeling that much mana through her body is beyond dangerous. Anna could literally vaporize," she said desperately.

Lance jerked into immediate action. He lunged towards Anna, who stared blankly ahead with glowing eyes of pure green light, face still set in a snarl. He gripped her shoulders and gave her a hard shake, "Anna, it's over, they're dead!" The ranger didn't seem to hear him and Lance shook her harder before wrapping his arms around her in a desperate hug, "Anna, please, stop! Sarah wouldn't want this!"

The sound of Sarah's name seemed to get through to Anna. The plants gradually returned to their former state, leaving behind dozens of bloodied and mangled bodies. Finally, the glow faded from Anna's eyes and she slumped in Lance's grasp, shuddering and panting. The gunner carefully lowered them both to kneel on the ground before twisting to look back at Natalie, intending to tell her to go check on Sarah.

Natalie was already by the girl's side, however. She swiftly felt for a pulse and slumped from relief when she found one. A brilliant flash of white light surrounded Sarah, closing the wound on her stomach. A few seconds later and the girl's eyes opened, just in time to see Natalie heal John, who let out a sigh, but remained out. As Natalie moved out of sight to heal NoLegs, Sarah sat up with a gasp as she remembered the fight that had been happening, and looked around. She gaped, going wide-eyed at the bloody devastation that was all that remained, noting the stunned and baffled expression of many of the fighters.

"Everything feel okay now, Sarah?" Matt asked her suddenly.

Sarah started and looked up at the swordsman before nodding, "Y-Yeah, I feel fine now, thanks." Her eyes drifted around the area again and she asked, "What happened?"

Natalie was the one who replied, "Anna happened, that's what. I've never seen anything like what she did. It was amazing… and terrifying."

"What did she do?" Sarah asked quietly, though she had a hunch that she already knew.

Matt shook his head, "The plants just exploded. They ripped through the assassins, poisoned some, and strangled others. It was over in about two minutes."

"Gaia Power," Sarah whispered, twisting to stare at where Lance was gently shaking Anna. "I had no idea Anna could do that…"

Lance glanced up with fearful eyes, "She's not waking up."

Sarah staggered to her feet and walked over to him. She knelt down again and laid a palm on Anna's forehead, feeling for her mana. After a moment, she smiled, "She's fine, just pushed herself too hard."

Natalie stepped up as well, asking, "Are you sure? She could have hurt herself with that attack."

"No, she can't; other than by having it wear herself out," Sarah reassured with a shake of her head. She lifted her eyes up to the others and said, "But we can talk about it later. Having her sleep in the snow is bad, and we need to clean up this mess and treat the wounded."

Matt nodded, "Yeah, good point. Lance, you can take Anna back to the house and settle her in. Natz and I will stay here to help out."

Lance nodded and stood up with Anna in his arms, "Okay, see you later."

Natalie watched him leave for a moment before turning her attention to the others. The fighters were watching them with curiosity, wondering what Anna had done. Most seemed to only be lightly injured and several mages were already circling, healing whoever needed it. Natalie began checking those on the ground with Matt at her side. Sarah and a man she waved over carried John back to his house. The bodies of the assassins were gathered in one place to be burned, and the bodies of the defenders were gathered elsewhere for proper funerals.

There were only three survivors from Origin, and they were immediately chained up to the trunks of the trees for interrogation and watching. One guard confided in Matt and Natalie that the survivors would certainly be executed as soon as they'd gotten whatever info they could out of them. He also said that there would be a guard unit of at least three people stationed around them at all times. Apparently, the raid earlier had been successful, but one man had escaped capture and inadvertently freed the rest, but that would not happen again. Matt nodded and requested any information the prisoners spilled.

Finally, after nearly an hour, Natalie and Matt headed back to Ralph's house. They walked in the front door to see Anna sitting at the table with Sarah on one side and Lance on the other. Ralph was not far away, leaning against a wall. John was out of sight, and the pair assumed he had been put to bed. The four inside looked around and nodded a greeting to Matt and Natalie as they sat down.

"Anna got all but three of the assassins. The survivors are being kept under tight watch until their execution," Matt informed them.

Natalie piped up to add, "We had four deaths on our side and numerous wounded. The injured are already fixed up and on their way to bed. The bodies have been gathered for burials."

Anna nodded and said in a quiet, tired voice, "Good to hear."

Matt leaned forwards and asked, "So what's this Gaia Power thing Anna did?"

"Gaia Power is a gift from nature, granted by Mighty Oak. Anna must have truly proven herself worthy if she received it," Sarah replied in a quiet voice. She glanced at Anna to check if the ranger wanted to explain, and went on when she merely shrugged, "It gives her full control over plants in her immediate area, as you probably guessed. Those that escape being killed are left with a very nasty poison. I'm actually surprised there were any survivors at all."

Anna spoke up to say in a cold voice, "Lance cut me off before I could finish with them."

Lance winced, "I'm sorry. I thought you were going to hurt yourself."

The ranger shot him a reassuring smile, "I know. I'm not mad at you, don't worry. More brooding that some of them will get to see another day or three. Still, it's worth it if we can get some information from them."

"When did you get Gaia Power?" Sarah asked.

Anna shrugged, "That's the second time I've used it. The… the first was when I came across the bodies of the villagers."

Matt looked startled, "You told us you'd killed them, but I didn't realize you did something like back there."

"I don't… like it," Anna explained quietly. She shook her head, "While they all deserved what they got, it kind of scares me to use the power. I'm in complete control of the magic, but I don't feel all there. I can't quite attach emotions to the actions, and I don't like that."

Sarah nodded, "Lana told me that a person quite literally channels divine energy to use the attack, and that a side effect of that is a kind of… glimpse into how the gods view the world. Her scrying powers were a form of that kind of energy, and she described it to me when I was asking her questions about magic. Did you pass out last time, too?"

Anna shook her head, "No; I still had enough strength to… to bury the villagers."

"Hmm, maybe Mighty Oak helped that first time. Were you close to his shrine?" Sarah murmured thoughtfully, her brow furrowed as she considered the idea.

"That's possible. The graveyard is pretty close to his shrine, or maybe it was because there were fewer assassins that time," Anna mused. "When I went back to it a second time, the Wooden Idols were tending to the graves."

Sarah smiled sadly, "So Mighty Oak is still watching over them, huh? That's good to know."

For a moment, Matt blinked, as if something had clicked into his head in that moment. "Hey Natz, remember when you used Genesis? Godcat mentioned that was for the divine," the swordsman suddenly piped up, a look of concern on his face.

Natalie looked startled for a second before saying, "True, but I wasn't really thinking at the time. I don't remember how it felt to use. I'm not even sure _how_ I managed to use Genesis."

Lance shrugged, "Well, you _are_ a powerful mage, but I'll bet the Seraphim staff we picked up in Lankyroot helped."

Ralph, who had been silently listening, suddenly spoke up to say in a mild tone, "I realize you all are young folk, but I'm going back to sleep now. It's only one in the morning, and I'm tired now that everything has been settled." And with that, he walked off down the hall.

Anna yawned, "Not a bad plan, actually." She turned her eyes on Sarah and said in a serious and pleading voice, "Please don't run out alone again. Wake us up if there's a problem."

Lance snorted, " _You_ run off all the time, you know. If I can't get you to stop doing that, then I doubt you'll get her to stop."

The ranger shot a glance at him, but could not say a word before she covered her mouth to yawn again. "Good point," she mumbled, blinking lazily. She stood up and followed Lance down the hall, but not before giving Sarah a quick but tight hug.

**OOOOOO**

The next morning saw Lance giving a long, aggravated growl at one of the captured assassins. "Look, it's over for you. You can tell us what we want to know, or we can get creative," he snapped.

The assassin merely turned his bruised face to the side with a sniff. Lance stepped back and exchanged a frustrated look with Matt. They'd been trying to get information out of the prisoners for twenty minutes already, but were getting nothing more than tight-lipped grunts from said prisoners. Natalie was back at Ralph's house with Sarah, John, and NoLegs, but Anna watched from not far away. She stepped forwards and raised Iron Tooth threateningly.

"Tell me what we want to know, and I won't be taking off your dick," Anna spat.

Matt jerked back with wide eyes, "Whoa, Anna…"

The assassin looked up at the ranger, and finally said, "Like you'd actually do that." A split second later, and an arrow was stabbed into his right leg. "Fuck, you bitch!" he yelled.

Anna glared at him coldly, "Should I stick one in the other leg, too, or are you going to talk?"

Matt sidled back to whisper to Lance, "Uh, are we okay with torture?"

Lance shrugged, his expression cold as he muttered back, "I doubt Anna actually knows any torture methods. Besides, it's not like these bastards don't deserve it. I'll stop her if she goes too far, though."

The assassin wheezed with pain and hissed, "My lips are sealed, you loose-lipped whore!"

Anna leaned back with a snort, "Is that the best you've got to throw at me?" She raised a hand to stop Lance from lunging forwards, suddenly peering at the man's face. Her eyes widened with recognition, "Wait, I know you. You were with the group that attacked me and Mighty Oak…"

The assassin fired a wad of spit, and smirked as it landed right on the ranger's face. His smile fell, though, when she merely wiped it off with one of her sleeves and narrowed her eyes at him. She drew her dagger and slung it low, just above his groin, and the man paled.

"Fine, I'll talk," the assassin yelped. The idea of castration was too much for him to bear.

Lance and Matt exchanged pleased looks and the gunner stepped forwards again, "What does your leader want the Primordial for, and why the virgin sacrifices?"

The assassin's mouth tightened for a moment, but a threatening press from Anna's dagger had him talking. "He says he'll create a new world with himself and his followers as immortal guardians," he said in a defeated tone.

Matt rolled his eyes with a disbelieving snort, and muttered, "Really? _That's_ the goal?"

Lance glanced back at him, but said nothing before he turned back to the assassin, "What about the sacrifices?"

"He says they're the only way to contact the Primordial. The connection only lasts so long, though," the assassin shuddered as he spoke.

Anna shot a look at Lance and murmured, "That's what Beth and Sam said… to an extent."

Lance nodded, "Yeah, I was hoping for a more in-depth _why_ , though." He shook his head and turned his attention back to the assassin, "How many of you are there?"

The assassin remained silent. Anna sliced a thin cut in his hip, and he yelped, "Not too many, and the rest are being held at the fort! You've been killing us off left and right like a bunch of nuts!"

" _We're_ a bunch of nuts?" Matt snapped. "What about your massacre of an entire village of peaceful people, or your hunting of a lone woman for months, or your leader's molestation and rape of several helpless women? What does all of that say about _you,_ I wonder?" he hissed coldly.

The assassin shrank back fearfully from the sudden, deadly gleam in Matt's eyes. Before anything more could be said, however, one of the village guards let out a shout. Lance, Matt, and Anna whipped around to see one of the other prisoners had somehow escaped their bindings, and was racing for the teleportation crystal as if his feet were ablaze.

Lance cursed under his breath and loaded a bullet into his gunblade. He raised the weapon to shoot the assassin down, but lowered the weapon in shock as a massive arc of lightning appeared from the crystal. The assassin was blasted back to the tree he had been bound to with a loud crack, reduced to little more than a smoking corpse that suffered a broken spinal column as a result from the impact.

"What the hell just happened?" Matt gasped, staring at the corpse in shock.

Anna shook her head, entirely unsure of what to make of it herself. "Beats me; but hey, at least we got one of these hooded creeps to spill the damn beans," she replied with a huff.

Lance nodded and waved a guard over, "We've got what we want from them; you can do what you will with them now."

The guard nodded, but hesitated before asking, "What was that lightning bolt just now?"

The gunner shrugged, "We're not sure. Just count it as a blessing."

"Right. We'll be hanging the remaining prisoners right away, and throwing their corpses for the monsters of the forest to feast on," The guard said with no small amount of satisfaction to his voice. He turned and hollered to one of the other guards, "Bring out the rope!"

Lance, Matt, and Anna slid back to watch as the prisoners were led to a single tree with a sturdy branch. Underneath the limb, three boxes had been set up beneath three nooses. The remaining two assassins' heads were placed in the nooses after a brief struggle. Then, the boxes were knocked aside, hanging the pair. Anna flinched slightly at the ugly snapping sounds of their necks, and turned away. Even if the bastards had deserved their fates, she wasn't so sure that the makeshift gallows were fit for them, and she despised executions.

Matt shot a glance at Anna, and suggested, "Well, it's still early. Should we head for the volcano now?"

Lance chewed his lip thoughtfully for a moment, "I'm not sure we should touch that teleportation crystal; not after what it did to that assassin."

"It's still the quickest way though," Anna protested. "Let's bring Natalie over and have her maintain a barrier while we try to use it."

Matt nodded as her turned back to Ralph's house, "Good plan. Let's go pick up Natz, and say our goodbyes."

The other two fell into step beside the swordsman. Anna glanced back at the hanging bodies of the two assassins before turning her eyes to Lance.

"Do you think we can trust that the rest of the assassins are being held back at their base?" Anna asked quietly.

Lance hesitated for a long moment before nodding, "I think so, yes. At the very least, there won't be any more large groups. We've killed a lot of Origin's forces, and I was beginning to wonder when they'd cut costs. I think at this point, they'll probably have scouts at towns and villages, keeping an eye out for us, but they likely won't attack anymore. Their leader will be consolidating his strength for holding us off when we finally go for his head."

Matt nodded his agreement, "True. Assaulting that fort will be tough on our own, though, and I'll bet they've taken care of any points we could use to slip in after Natalie vanished from under their noses."

Anna frowned and suggested, "We should stop in Whitefall Town after we get the staff, and see if Beth and Sam have left any messages with Shawn. Maybe they can get us in somehow." She glanced up at Lance and said in a mild tone, "I bet your Ion Cannon could bring the fort down pretty easily, if it comes to attacking the fort."

"Probably," Lance agreed with a smirk.

The gunner pushed the door open to Ralph's house and they walked inside. Natalie was sitting with Sarah and John at the table, explaining ways to better cast healing magic, as well as ways to get a finer focus with their spells. NoLegs was dozing on the floor at their feet, his sword and shield lying nearby. The cat's ears remained pricked however, showing he was still alert to his surroundings. Natalie glanced up and around at her friends and waved a greeting.

"Hey guys, get any useful information?" Natalie asked as they settled down.

Matt nodded, "A little, at least. We know their goal, and we learned that they likely won't be sending out large assaults anymore." He glanced over at John and Sarah and added, "That doesn't mean you can relax yet, though. Sarah, stay near John, and both of you should probably stay in the village. We'll be leaving NoLegs here with you as added help."

John nodded back, "Right. I'll ask the guards to let us know if anyone new enters town, as well."

"Good plan, and if you think something is wrong, send NoLegs to us with a message. We'll help if we can, and if we can't get to you, we'll offer whatever advice we can," Lance said. He glanced down at NoLeg's tail and added, "If it gets really bad, there're a number of tunnels as well as a fort in the mountains that NoLegs can guide you to. You'll be safe from attack there."

Sarah blinked in surprise, "I thought that place was just a myth?"

Anna grinned and held up Iron Tooth, "Nope, that's where we got this. The place is definitely real, and protected by some very powerful spells. Just be careful of the local monster population."

Natalie pushed her chair back and stood up, "So I guess we're going now?"

"Yeah, the sooner we get the staff, the sooner we can end this," Matt said.

Sarah and John stood up and exchanged hugs and handshakes with the party. Anna held extra tight to Sarah and whispered, "Please be careful, Sarah."

"I will, and you do the same; stick an extra arrow into their leader for me," Sarah whispered back. She pulled away and watched the party for a moment before saying, "May the spirits of the trees bless your journey. Good luck to you all."

With that, the party turned and left. They called their farewells to Ralph as they passed where he was watering the animals. The man saluted them as they passed and called back wishes for a safe trip, and to send word as soon as it was safe. The party headed back to clearing and stood before the teleportation crystal. Natalie cast a sour glance at the two hanging corpses that were just being taken down, but showed no fear of them.

"Good, the bastards are dead," the mage muttered. Then she blinked at the bodies and asked, "Weren't there three of them, though?"

Lance nodded, "There were, but one made a break for it. He touched this crystal and it electrocuted him with way more than enough power to kill him. We're going to try to use it, but we need you to maintain a barrier."

The mage nodded, and raised a barrier, "Got it. Let's go."

To their relief, the crystal let them teleport with no issue at all. In the blink of an eye, they found themselves standing at the peak of a barren and ashy landscape. Pools of lava bubbled all around and the forms of monsters could be seen skirting out of sight. They'd made it to the volcano.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, a huge thank you goes to FlorarenaKitasatina. These come so much faster when collaborating. ;D Enjoy the result of two equally twisted minds working together!

Almost as soon as the party had taken in their surroundings, a few of the shadows moved closer. Matt groaned in irritation as he spotted two Skull Ghosts. Anna glanced at him with confusion before nocking an arrow and firing it at one of the ghosts. Her eyes widened when the arrow flew straight through the monster without it bearing even the slightest of injuries, as if it weren’t really there at all.

“Okay, how the hell did it do that?” Anna demanded with a baffled frown.

Lance shot her a sideways look with a wry grin, “Meet the Skull Ghost, completely immune to physical attacks.” His eyes moved past the monster to a pair of red slimes with craters on their heads, “And look! Our other favorite: the Red Slime!”

Natalie grumbled, “I don’t remember nominating those as favorites… Don’t bother with magic on the Red Slimes, Anna—they absorb all magical damage, like a deranged sponge.”

Matt heaved a sigh, “And I had hoped they wouldn’t be here with Akron gone…”

The swordsman readied Equilibrium and lunged at the nearest slime. He swung the massive blade with a grunt, and the slime splattered across the ground in red goo with bits of lava. Matt cracked a grin at the satisfying effect and turned his attention to the second slime, hoping to splatter it, too. To his disappointment, Lance was already slashing at the monster, however. A sudden, sharp crackle of lightning spread over one of the Skull Ghosts. The monster let out an eerie and breathy shriek as it faded from existence.

The other ghost, however, shot back in retaliation, flinging a few balls of fire in Anna’s direction. The ranger twisted aside, narrowly dodging the searing flames. She returned the volley with a small cyclone of wind, which sent the creature spinning backwards with its head going the opposite direction as it slowed to a stop right in front of Matt as he turned around. The swordsman leapt backwards with a yelp of surprise, straight into Lance, who shoved him back forwards with an irritable grumble.

The ghost had, likewise, backed off from the swordsman just far enough that he wound up face planting in the hard rock. A second lightning spell from Natalie finished the monster off, and the mage lowered her staff before moving forwards to stand beside Matt. She arched an almost disbelieving brow at the swordsman for his aided clumsiness, before turning back to Anna who merely shook her head with a grin, and shrugged her shoulders. 

“Those monsters weren’t so bad,” Anna commented, eyeing the remains of the slimes.

Lance shook his head, “Wait until you see a group of five of one of them, and half the party can’t do anything.”

“Maybe we should finish our search before that happens,” Natalie suggested in a mild voice. She turned her eyes to the bubbling and inhospitable landscape, “Where do we even begin looking?”

Matt moved to stand next to her and frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe we should check where Akron used to be sealed?” he suggested.

Lance shrugged with a nod, “We might as well. We didn’t see much there the first time, but then, there was a giant monstrosity chained to the floor. That kinda thing tends to draw the eye.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” the mage nodded in agreement. She took another glance around, and noticed a cavern that she would have otherwise missed if not for the two dead torches lining either side of its mouth. “I guess it’s our lucky day: the place Akron was sealed is right there,” she added with a smile, gesturing to the cavern for emphasis.

Anna nodded, and led the way towards the opening. As they approached it, the torches suddenly flared to life with an unnatural, almost dreadful, blood red flame. “Did these torches light up last time you guys were here?” she asked, turning to the others with a puzzled frown.

“They did,” Matt replied with a nod. “But they weren’t _that_ red.”

The ranger shrugged and took the first step inside the cave. Instantly, the temperature of the air seemed to drop by several degrees, despite the heat of the rest of the volcano. Again, she shot another glance at her companions. “Okay, now I’m starting to think that this cavern is Hell, and freezing over,” she groaned, suppressing a shiver.

“It might as well be,” Lance grumbled, tugging the edges of his coat shut. “But why in Godcat’s name would it turn _cold_?”

“I guess there’s only one way to find out…” Natalie sighed, gripping her staff. “Keep your eyes peeled, guys. I doubt there’s anything here, but it never hurts to be careful.”

The rest of the team nodded and cautiously continued further into the cavern. They saw the remains of the massive chains and seals where Akron had once stood. If that were not creepy enough, more torches slowly lit, the further they walked. And yet, the more flames that lit, the darker and colder the space seemed to become. Soon, their breath gathered in clouds before their faces and they inched closer together, warily eyeing the shadows.

Then, a pair of gleaming red eyes blinked out of the shadows before vanishing a second later with a malevolent, hollow chuckle. Matt sucked in a breath, but before he could speak, a second pair of eyes blinked and went out, followed by a second, deeper laugh. Chills ran up each of the spines of the party and they readied their weapons, yet nothing attacked them. Matt exchanged a glance with Natalie, as though she had any more idea what was going on than he did. The mage merely shook her head with a nervous look on her face.

“Show yourselves,” Lance suddenly called imperiously. A third pair of eyes lit up like fire in the sable, only to once again fade out as if the darkness itself were mocking him.

There was a round of the hollow laughter and a darker shadow briefly slid into view, silhouetted by enough of the torchlight to reveal that it was there, but not enough light for the group to discern what it looked like before it scurried out of sight. They caught another glimpse of crimson eyes, and another round of hollowed cackling graced their ears, this one rather high-pitched compared to the other sets of laughter.

Finally, Natalie grew tired of the shades and echoes. She raised her staff and a brilliant ball of light appeared, hovering in the air before her. It was a spell she didn’t often use, as it took more mana than using the crystals, but it created a wider circle of light, and could be quickly transformed into an attack. Armed with her magic, she marched further forwards with her friends grouped just behind her in the pool of light.

Even in spite of the magical light source, the place continued to darken around them, and whatever had been producing the strange eyes and mad, hollow cackles did not reveal itself to the group. The party kept their eyes constantly moving, scanning the shadows that seemed to writhe and twist, but kept continuing deeper into the cave with gritted teeth. Whatever was there would not stop them from searching for their prize.

Natalie paused, raising a hand as the others stopped behind her. She caught a glimpse of something scurrying away with the faintest glimmer of dark steel. “Something’s here and it’s armed,” she whispered. To her confusion, she received no reply from anyone else and chanced a glance over her shoulder.

She paled; the others weren’t behind her. In fact, it was as if they hadn’t set foot at all in this cavern. “... Guys?” she whimpered, darting her head every which-way she could manage, but she caught not one fleeting sight of Matt, Lance, or Anna.

Another hollow laugh reverberated throughout the cavern, echoing off the walls in a way it sounded as if multiple people had doubled over in a cackling fit. She spun around, trying to find her companions as well as whoever made the incessant noise, but all she could see was an endless void of darkness.

The mage gulped, pressing onwards. “Surely, they still have to be here…” she mumbled, her voice faltering as she caught another glimpse of dark grey, flinching as a loud screech hit her ears. Something had just been scraping against the floor, the sound akin to metal grating upon more metal. She glanced down and noticed that there were peculiar indents on the floor, all leading in one direction: forward.

She pressed on, trying her best to keep her growing trepidation at bay. Following the indents in the ground, her pace slowed to a foot-dragging gait, her heart starting to race in her chest and climb up her throat. The torches continued to dim, until she was sure they had all but snuffed themselves out. Then, she found herself right in front of a wall, just meager moments before she began feeling the drain of her mana and found herself with no choice but to turn off her only source of light.

The sound of metal grating on metal made her breath hitch, and she just barely turned around before a gleaming pair of crimson eyes greeted her. Her breath caught in her throat, and for a moment, she was frozen in wide-eyed panic. She emitted a soundless scream as a cold hand, icy as death itself, cupped her cheek before trailing down her neck and resting on her shoulder. The mage made to back away, only to stop before she could even move as cold metal gently caressed her other shoulder, and the edge of some kind of blade just barely brushed against her neck.

Then, only then, did the unnerving laughter echo into the caverns around her, sending more chills down her spine than she could possibly hope to suppress. Instantaneously, the world around her shifted and heaved, growing jagged colored crystals whose light managed to penetrate the darkness. But, the sight of the crystals did little to ease her, especially with what she bore witness to now causing her heart to plummet like a boulder rolling down a mountainside.

Matt stood in the shrine where the Equilibrium was kept, the aforementioned weapon and himself stained in gratuitous crimson. Before him lay Lance and Anna, both with enormous stab wounds in their stomachs. The swordsman had a vacant expression on his face, irises and pupils gently dilating as if he were contemplating what it was that lay on the stone floor.

Then, his irises and pupils shrank, and his eyes went wide. His lips began to tremble, but as he made to speak, not a sound was made. “Matt?” Natalie whimpered, but the swordsman ignored her altogether.

Words died in her throat as the swordsman turned away and let off an anguished howl, a cry that shook the cavern for but a moment. Her heart stopped in her chest, and her lungs tightened as Matt lifted the blade, positioning the hilt away from himself and the cross-shaped tip towards his own abdomen.

Tears prickled her eyes as, with another inhuman shriek of pain and gut-wrenching grief, the sword was plunged right into his stomach. It did not go deep; no, it shot clean through his body and protruded from the other side like an enlarged javelin. Natalie’s free hand flew to her face in horror, the tears breaking loose and streaming down her cheeks as her mind scrambled to process the sight before her as the swordsman fell onto his side, his back facing her as he curled up and groaned, “I’m sorry, Natz… Lance… Anna...”

The room was silent; not even the mage’s hitched breathing that threatened to break out into sobs could hope to crack the terrible tranquility that settled in. Her legs shook as if she were in an earthquake, threatening to give out. “No…” she croaked at last, her voice naught but a terrified whisper. Natalie forced herself forward, feet dragging as she lurched towards the fallen form of Matt.

She collapsed as soon as she managed to reach his body, landing on her knees with a soft thud. The staff fell out of her hand and clattered to the ground, and she let her hands move to hover over the fallen blond before they froze.

“Matt?” she pleaded, more tears streaming her face as her hands trembled. Her voice broke as she went on, “Matt… no…” Her breath hitched again, and very quickly became riddled with sobs as she took in what was in front of and around her while realization hit her like a freight train. In desperation, she grabbed the fallen swordsman and tried to heave him up, but the weight of the Equilibrium kept him cemented on the spot.

“No… no… no…” she mumbled, grasping one of Matt’s hands, only to freeze as the coldness of death graced her hand. She tried to pry it away from the blade, yet it remained stiff as a hammered-in nail, glued to the black and silver weapon by thick, rapidly-drying blood. She made to hunch over the corpse, but further stiffened when she heard footsteps.

A faint echo, just as faded as the footsteps, hit her ears. “Natalie?” someone called out.

“ _That voice…”_ the mage’s mind was once more scrambling as she blinked, only to find herself in the inky darkness again. She blinked again, and found herself still kneeling over Matt’s fallen corpse. Something didn’t add up; and then it struck her: Matt was alive and well when the group trekked into the caverns, when they spent a night in the secluded box canyon fort, when Anna led her into the woods away from the fortress of Origin and right towards the gunner and swordsman.

Upon blinking once more, she found herself in the inky darkness. She shivered, still feeling the cold hand cup her shoulder and the blade perch mere millimeters from her neck. The sound of running footsteps hit her ears as the blade gradually drew closer to her neck. She shivered just as the edge came into contact with her pulse point, gently scraping up and down her skin but never cutting it. The cold hand cupped her cheek and the thumb brushed across it, wiping a wayward tear or two away as if trying to soothe her.

Time stopped as Matt barreled into view, crystal around his neck glowing and blade rose high and with the handle pointing at an angle. The butt of the weapon connected with the something in front of Natalie, who remained stunned into silence as the whatever-it-was got hit and bumbled back into the darkness with a pained, unearthly shriek. The swordsman knelt down in front of the mage, one hand flying to her shoulder as he noticed a tear going down her right cheek.

“Natz, are you okay?” Matt asked, but he got no response from the stunned woman. “Natz, pull it together! Say something!” he pleaded, and only then did the mage respond. Her arms flew around his neck and pulled him close.

“I-I saw you k-kill yourself!” she heaved as the words tumbled from her mouth. “I-I t-th… it felt real!”

Matt made to speak, but was cut off before even one syllable left his lips as not one, but two sets of unnerving laughter echoed in the darkness around them. One of the voices that produced the cacophony sounded pained and rather irritated, but the other was high-pitched in tune. He hastily scooped up her staff and nudged her with it, getting up to his feet with Natalie following suit whilst shuddering.

He wrapped an arm around her, the same one whose hand held her staff. “I didn’t kill myself; you were just entranced by some sick mind games,” he murmured in a reassuring tone of voice. Natalie gave him a weak smile and tightened her hug, but not so much that his lungs would end up deprived of air.

“I’m not gonna fall for that illusion again. Thanks for coming for me,” she whispered, her breathing slowing back down to normal.

“That’s good; but I’m afraid we’ve got company,” Matt replied, breaking the embrace and handing the mage her staff. Just as her hands clasped the shaft of her weapon, the two sets of mad giggle fits broke out once more, echoing in the bleak world around them.

**OOOOOO**

Lance had been following closely behind Natalie. He noted that the ball of light the mage wielded seemed to grow dimmer, and dimmer. Suddenly, the light simply vanished, and Lance froze. He reached out for Anna, who he knew was barely a foot to his right, only to discover empty air. His heart skipped a beat before beginning to pound twice as fast.

“Anna? Matt, Natalie?” Lance called in an uncertain voice.

The only reply he received was a high-pitched laugh that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Lance’s eyes narrowed in the gloom, trying to see through the shadows to locate his enemy or his friends, but all he could see was the twin line of torches. Finally, he decided the others would be following the torches and he kept walking with a tight grip on the hilt of his gunblade. He could feel that he was being watched, and he braced himself to move at the first sign of an attack.

And yet, nothing leapt out at him, and no attacks came from the shadows. He simply walked along the cavern, following the torches until he reached a jagged doorway that was more of a fissure in the cave wall than any kind of intentional entrance. Strangely, he could see a flickering light glimmering from around a corner through the gap.

Lance hesitated, not wanting to go through without the others. He glanced back to the shadowy room, and jumped when he realized that he could no longer see the entrance to the cave, nor could he see the torches that he’d followed. All that met his eyes was an all-encompassing blackness. And then, two red eyes glinted out of the shadows, practically right in front of him. The same high-pitched laughter rang out, and the hairs on his neck stood on end.

Lance jumped backwards in fright and stumbled into the crevice. He heard the distinct sound of an arrow being nocked from the same direction as the red eyes, and his own eyes widened. He twisted around and darted around the corner, just as he heard an arrow clatter against the stone where his head had been. And yet, the gunner’s attention was jerked from his shadowy foe by a startling, and horrifying sight. Greenwood was on fire.

The gunner whirled around to look back the way he had come, but all that met his eyes were the trunks of trees with a heavy veil of smoke drifting between them. Instantly, his eyes narrowed as he looked around again. Yes the sight was distressing, and yes he was likely in very real danger. But he knew one thing for certain: the images before him now were not real. Greenwood was nowhere near the volcano, and it had burned nearly a half a year ago.

And yet, even as he had the realization that images before him weren’t real, he saw a glimpse of Anna crouching beside a burning house, Sky Feather in her hands. The ranger’s attention was fixed on something hidden by the smoke and she took no notice of Lance. Suddenly, Anna rose up and snapped off an arrow before diving into a set of smoldering bushes. A familiar and terrifying shriek rose up.

Lance twisted to look around and he saw the terrifying head of the Primordial smash through the house Anna had just abandoned as cover. Lance shrank back to hide behind the trunk of a tree and watched the massive and ancient god tear the building apart before moving on with a frustrated shriek in the opposite direction of the ranger. Lance seized the opportunity to dart after Anna.

The gunner slid from building to building and spotted Anna crouched besides another building. He darted towards her and quietly called, “Anna!” to his confusion, Anna jerked around and stared at him with wide eyes.

“Lance? How the hell did you get here? You’re not supposed to be back for another few months,” Anna hissed with confusion in her voice.

Lance stared at her, equally confused, “What are you talking about? I was just with you not ten minutes ago.”

Anna stared at him as though he’d gone insane, but she soon shook her head and said, “Never mind, we can do a sanity check on you later; right now, I need your help.”

“What do you need me to do?” Lance asked slowly. Even though he spoke with Anna, his mind was racing, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. By Anna’s words and reaction and the events happening…

“I’m guessing you saw the mutant running around?” Anna said in a flat tone. “It just burst out of the ground, and I can’t stop it by myself. I don’t know how the hell you got here, and right now, I don’t really care. I’m trying to buy time for the villagers to run, but maybe we can beat this thing if we work together.”

Lance stared at Anna, his mind whirling. Somehow, he’d been sent back to when the Primordial had first attacked Greenwood; there was nothing else that the current events could be. Anna had a slash bloody stain on her side, she didn’t know what the monster was, she thought he was supposed to be gone for several months, and she was buying time for the villagers to flee. He wondered if he’d somehow been sent back in time.

Suddenly, nothing else mattered. However he’d gotten here, he’d make a difference this time, and he’d start by telling Anna to run after her people. “This is going to sound crazy, but you need to leave the monster here, your people are in danger, Anna,” Lance suddenly burst out.

Anna stilled and stared at him, “Well, duh, there’s a three headed lizard tromping around with the express purpose of turning our homes into kindling.”

“No, there are a group of assassins in the woods, ready to slaughter everyone,” Lance said desperately. He tugged on Anna’s arm, “The monster will vanish soon, but we need to help them _now_!”

Anna yanked her arm back with a nervous look in her eyes, “Look, Lance, I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but the threat is right next to us. Let’s beat it and then we can go gather the villagers.”

Lance grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, “I swear: I’m not making this up, Anna.” He let her go when she merely scowled at him, “Fine, I’ll go save them. I’ll be right back, or you can come to me when the monster vanishes. Good luck.”

The gunner tore himself away, barely ignoring the confused call of his name, knowing Anna would manage to avoid the god. He tore through the smoky trees; headed for where he knew would soon become the graveyard of Greenwood Village, if he didn’t stop the massacre. He burst out of the trees in time to see the first villager cut down by a shadow and cloaked figure. With a snarl of fury, Lance lunged forwards and slashed at the man, but barely missed as the assassin jumped back.

Suddenly, bullets blasted out of the trees, and he instinctively threw himself to the ground. The villagers fell under the onslaught of deadly fire with cries of pain and fear. Lance shuddered and bile rose in his mouth as he felt blood splatter on his back. The shots faded to silence and Lance cautiously stood up to find himself surrounded by bodies. He trembled in shock as he realized he had failed, anyway. The villagers had been slain.

A crashing through the trees had Lance twisting around. Anna burst through the bushes with a wild look in her eyes. She froze at the sight of Lance standing over the bodies of her people and covered in blood and her eyes widened further. Tears welled in her eyes and her mouth moved soundlessly. Finally, she collapsed to her knees, staring at Lance with a growing look of shattered disbelief and betrayal.

“Why...?” Anna finally whispered in a broken voice.

Lance sucked in a shuddering breath as he realized what it must look like. “I tried to stop it, I swear!” He protested desperately.

Anna’s head ducked down and she began to laugh softly, but soon rose to horrible, crazed cackling. Finally, she met his eyes with a dead look in her own, “If you tried to stop it, then where are the assassins’ bodies? Why are you uninjured? First you left me to fight on my own, and then you killed everyone else while I was occupied. Gods, how could you…?”

Lance recoiled as though she had shot him, “No! Anna, I swear that’s not what happened!”

To his horror, the ranger ignored him, instead drawing an arrow. For a moment, he thought she was going to attack him. And then something far worse happened: she swiftly brought the arrow down on her own chest, straight for her heart. Lance let out a cry and scrambled forwards to catch her body as she collapsed sideways. He cradled her twitching form, and shook her desperately.

“Anna, Anna, no. Don’t do this. Don’t die,” Lance begged her desperately.

Anna’s eyes opened and met his for the briefest of moments. She stared at him with an accusing gaze before her eyes glazed over into death; Lance’s heart both stopped and shattered in that one moment. His eyes welled with tears as he stared down at Anna’s unmoving face. Her blood leaked out around the arrow she’d stabbed into her heart to ooze over his arms, and trickle out of her mouth. Lance shuddered and shook Anna, begging her to talk to him, to say anything, do anything, unable to understand that she was gone.

Lance clutched Anna’s corpse to his chest, pleading with her to come back. He could feel her body lose the heat of life as death’s icy grip settled into her skin. His breathing shook and caught, border lining on hysterical sobs. And then, Anna twitched in his arms. Lance jerked back to stare at her face and he recoiled with horror as he saw blood staining her hair red and running from her eyes as bloody tears. Her skin was still the pale grey of dead flesh. she stared straight at him with eyes that were red irises with black sclera instead of white, yet still holding the same accusing look she’d had prior to her suicide.

“A-Anna?” Lance stuttered.

Anna pulled away from him, seeming to melt from his grasp like liquid to come to her feet nearby. She stared at him and said in a hollow and echoing voice, “What have you done? All of us dead, because of _you_.”

Lance swallowed as Anna glared down at him, unable to defend himself. She was right, after all: he hadn’t saved her people, and had been the final factor that had led to her death. “I’m sorry…” he whispered.

“ _Sorry_ , are you?” Anna spat back. She raised her bow, now Black Widow instead of Sky Feather, and nocked an arrow, “No, you’re not sorry, but you will be soon.”

Lance watched with dull eyes as Anna drew back the arrow, aiming straight for him. It was what he deserved. He could at least grant her some semblance of revenge. The gunner shut his eyes and turned his face away as Anna finished drawing her bow, the arrow straining against the string. His eyes reopened when a clattering sound rang out. He stared in confusion as he saw an obsidian arrow spiral off with its shaft split by a glowing blue arrow. Anna let out an angry, inhuman hiss.

“Lance, Lance, don’t listen to it!” a familiar voice called, echoing as though from far away. “Lance, I need you to come back to me!” Anna was calling for him, he realized, and he twisted around to look for her.

Abruptly, the bloody corpses surrounding him vanished as did the trees. All that remained of the illusion was the bloodied version of Anna and the two arrows. And then a second glowing arrow flashed past, chasing the bloodied Anna away. Lance swallowed heavily as he saw Anna as he knew her appear in front of him. The ranger had dried tears on her face as she lunged forwards to wrap her arms around him. The gunner remained stiff, however, in shock from the scene he’d witnessed.

Anna clung to him even more tightly as she asked, “Are you okay?”

Lance let out a shuddering sigh, and slumped in her grasp, his own arms coming up to wrap around Anna. A cruel illusion; that was all it had been. Anna hadn’t died, she didn’t blame him for what had happened, and she was still looking out for him. He buried his wet face in her neck as he clutched her and mumbled into her skin, “I am now, thank you.”

Anna pulled back and leaned in to give him a soft kiss, but froze before they met as a pair of laughs echoed out of the darkness. The ranger’s eyes narrowed and she pulled back, “Looks like the reunion will have to wait. We’ve got some evil doubles to kill.” 

Lance nodded, his face settling with determination, “Right. After this, though, I think we’re going to have to get, _ah_ , reacquainted.”

Anna’s face split into a smirk and she lifted her bow as she replied, “Of course. Let’s go.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thanks goes out to Florarena Kitasatina for once again helping me write this!

The laughter echoed around the bleak world, bouncing off unseen walls, driving Matt and Natalie to clutch their weaponry in vise-like grips. The pair stood stiff for a moment, eyes constantly scanning the darkness, ears ringing as the unnerving sounds bashed at their eardrums like the tolling of church bells.

"Should I make another light?" Natalie asked, her voice faltering for a moment.

Matt shook his head, "I've tried when we got split up; next thing I know: I get entranced by an illusion. Stay close; the _fiends_ here have already tried picking us off one-by-one once, and I'm sure they're going to try that again."

A shriek emanated in the sable, piercingly loud, making the pair fall to their knees from the intensity. A split second later, Matt pushed Natalie down to the ground, the sound of a bladed something whizzing past the two just overhead. The swordsman glanced behind himself and scowled, spotting a darker shadow with crimson eyes glaring at him.

"N'aaaw, how adorable," the shadow hissed in a hollow tone, its voice a distorted mockery of Natalie's own, "Too bad you won't live to see the sunrise!"

Matt responded by sending one of his legs out in a low sweep, grinning as he felt the junction of his foot and leg collide with a set of shins. He scooped Natalie up with one hand and darted away a bit, setting her down onto her feet as the shadow let loose a long string of curses his way. Another shadow rushed at him, heralded by the sound of metal grating on metal, and the swordsman brought up Equilibrium to guard. A sharp clang rang out, and the shadow backed off, gleaming red eyes narrowed to small slits in the darkness.

"You and your fancy blade won't stand a chance!" the second shadow hissed, its voice a near-garbled distortion of Matt's own. "No matter; this is your last journey! Your blood will stain these walls, lost to the mists of time forever more!"

"Bring it, ugly! You and your scythe-wielding bitch over there can try all you want!" Matt taunted, sending the shadows a rude hand gesture before raising his sword in a threatening, one-handed stance. Both shadows hissed, their cries akin to shrieking metal, and simultaneously lunged forward. Matt and Natalie danced out of the way of a sable-covered flurry, staying close together as the sound of metal hitting stone reverberated again and again. The swordsman returned the favor by planting the tip of his sword in the ground and sending a Spark arcing towards the attackers, briefly illuminating their ashen-skinned, twisted forms.

"I think I see why you called them ugly. I swear, the one in the dress looked like she had a stitched mouth," Natalie remarked, adding a Fireball to the volley. The shadows twisted aside, letting the magical projectile hit a nearby wall and knock a torch aside.

"You little _slut!"_ cried one of the shadows, eyes alight in fury, "When I get my hands on you, you'll wish you hadn't conceded with that dung sack you call a friend!"

" _Excuse you?"_ Matt snarled his tone icy and low. Gripping his sword with both hands, a frown pulled on his lips as the other shadow howled with wild laughter.

"Face it, you dumb blond," the female shadow spat with amusement glimmering in her eyes, "Only a harlot would dare walk around with her cleavage exposed!"

"Says the zombie-like woman who almost entirely mimics the looks of my girlfriend!" Matt growled, flinging one hand forward and channeling some mana for another attack. A huge blade of light appeared that crashed down, causing the shadows to dart away once more and illuminate their forms for but a moment.

The shadow that called Natalie a slut looked a lot like Matt; the hair had been braided some, and his getup had been similar to that of his Captain's Outfit. Yet his skin was a disturbingly pale grey color, eyes sunken in that looked entirely black sans the red orbs that glowed dead center. The hair was oily black, and a sword built of obsidian rested in one hand, adorned by a faint red pentagram on the hilt.

The other shadow sported a black dress, and a rack that rivaled Natalie's. Resting just above the cleavage was a strange crimson symbol that looked a bit like a snake with wings. The visage had a stitched grin that barely opened to let out a hiss; the hair was as black as the surrounding darkness, and black baubles adorned it. In one hand rested a scythe that had a screaming, red-eyed face affixed to the opposite end of the blade, with spikes jutting upward like a deranged halberd. Black, leathery wings spread wide as she threw a hand out, dark fire roiling around at the hems of her dress.

"Dammit!" Natalie cursed, throwing up a hasty Barrier spell that glowed for a moment as black flames exploded across the other side, causing cracks to rapidly form. By the time the volley of unnaturally-colored fire ended, the barrier cracked into pieces, and Matt's doppelganger rushed forward with blinding speed.

Matt retaliated, rushing to meet his Dark Self head-on. Blades connected once more, sparks flying from the collision point, and dead eyes locked with living ones in an impasse. "You won't touch her! Never again!" the swordsman shrieked, fury alight in his eyes, but Dark Matt only let off a small chuckle.

"Maybe not," Dark Matt replied in a low, amused tone, "but neither shall you."

Dark Natalie cackled, throwing her head high as dark-violet-tinted lightning arced around her form like an electromagnetic field. In front of her, a barrier of the same color had formed, and she dug into what looked like an Adventure Pouch and procured a flailing bat. The seams holding her mouth shut split like guitar strings, and she opened wide and downed the bat in one wallop. An aura pulsated around her, scythe gleaming red and illuminating her now-torn face in full grotesque grandeur. She raised her weapon high and slashed downward at her own barrier, breaking it into tiny pieces, which in turn garnered a nervous chuckle from the living Matt.

"Poor body build makes for poor slashing, especially with a rack like that!" the blond remarked, and had soon found himself wishing that he kept his claptrap shut. Dark Matt backed off, letting Dark Natalie lunge in for a series of blinding slashes that came in quick succession of one another. He tried blocking the onslaught, but nicks and tears started appearing at a breakneck speed; only ceasing as the she-demon hissed while ice formed on her wings and limbs, rendering her paralyzed.

"You _dare_ remark on _my_ tits?!" Dark Natalie shrieked as the aura around her form fluctuating in intensity as black ice began cropping up around her half-frozen form.

"Like he'd touch those rotting melons you have," Natalie retorted as Matt returned at her side. She set up another barrier, which Matt backed up with another barrier of yellow. The black ice around her dark self started springing outwards, first in small spikes, before evolving into medium-length spears. A cold air had overtaken the cavern, and as the ice grew longer and larger and inched its way towards the pair, their breath hung in heavy clouds.

The ice trapped them in a makeshift cage that began shrinking, forming a crude ice cube that pulsated with mana. Matt wrapped an arm around Natalie's waist and pulled her close as the ice kept encroaching towards them and whispered in her ear, "Hang tight. I'm going to slash my way out of this frozen hellhole."

Natalie's eyes went wide, "Are you sure it'll work?" She wrapped her arms around Matt, still clutching her staff as he nodded.

"If this sword eats mountains for breakfast, then I doubt the black ice wall will be a problem," Matt affirmed, lunging into action. He slashed at the spires of ice with one hand, sending them to the ground and shattering them as though they were fine china. He ran onward, still holding the mage as he hacked and slashed, clearing a path out of the attack. Just as they emerged from the broken cage, a big block with a large hole had formed behind them, lined by several little spikes that crunched like snow under Matt's feet.

Dark Natalie let off another hiss, followed by more cursing. "You fucking assholes!" she cried, her hair and dress flying in a violent vortex of black energy that swirled behind her form. Her wings flared wide, eyes narrowed into slits, the scythe still aglow with crimson energy as the vortex pulsated like a beating heart. "I've had it up to here! You will die a painful death, never again to see the light of day!"

Matt and Natalie both went wide-eyed as gravity began to alter, trying to tug them towards the vortex that shrank twice for a moment before rapidly expanding in size. The swordsman jammed Equilibrium into the ground and held onto it tight with one hand, still keeping his other latched onto the mage. Dark Matt had likewise jammed his sword into the ground, keeping both hands on it as a sly smirk spread on his face.

Gravity continued to shift towards the vortex, trying to pull anything and everything into the vacuum-like burst of mana. Dark Natalie cackled, jamming her scythe into the floor of the cavern and holding on tight. "Either one of you dies," she promised darkly, "or both of you die! So little time to choose; so much time to let go!"

The ice began slipping from under Matt's feet, gradually dragging him with, but he held a firm grip on blade and mage. Broken shards of ice flew past, further nicking them both, causing pain to flare up as blood flew from their wounds towards the vortex. The gravity shift began picking up in intensity, and soon all combatants were swept off their feet, still holding firm to their anchor points, with Dark Natalie cackling all the while.

The winged doppelganger went on, her voice barely audible in the vacuum, "Either live meaningless existences without your significant other, or perish and frolic in the fields of Elysium together! Either way, your time is nigh!"

"Bite me! Both me and Natz will get out of these caves alive and well!" Matt barked, his face set in a firm glare.

Dark Matt cackled, "Such vigor I admire. Too bad it was a wasted effort!"

The scythe's shaft began to bend at an angle, and Dark Natalie's eyes flickered for a moment. "You have got to be—" she could not finish as the scythe snapped in two, and the vortex sucked her in as she let out a final shriek while the altered gravity mangled her already-hideous body. As her form got turned into a pressure-pressed ball of flesh and cloth, the vortex's strength began faltering as its form shrunk again and again until it merely poofed out of existence with a warning wheeze. The remaining three battlers landed; Dark Matt fell on his face while his living counterpart and Natz flopped on their sides.

The swordsman and mage scrambled up, breaths coming in shallow, raspy bouts. Dark Matt had scrambled up too, moving without even a hint of pain. He turned to where the broken scythe lay imbedded in the stone and shook his head. "A frail weapon makes for a poor anchor point. Then again, it was a reflection of the mage's own choice of self-defense," he scoffed, grabbing his sword and lifting it from the ground one-handed.

Matt reclaimed Equilibrium and relinquished his hold on Natalie, sending an icy glare towards his red-eyed doppelganger. "Sure, staves aren't as strong as swords or as sturdy as hammers. But they can make some fine weaponry with something I doubt you could comprehend," he said simply.

"And what would that something be?" the doppelganger asked, an aura appearing around and illuminating his frame. He had a smirk on his face, but also a decaying brow quirked.

"Determination—especially if you're protecting those close to you," Matt replied, a smirk on his own face. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and felt that hand give him a gentle squeeze.

"Feh; such useless blabbering from someone with a pea-sized brain!" the doppelganger sneered, his aura intensifying. His smile fell when Natalie spoke.

"If Matt's brain were the size of a pea, then the world would've been destroyed five times over by now," the mage replied, shooting the swordsman a wide smile. "Sure, he's had his moments, but he always made up for them, right?"

"Have I ever!" Matt agreed, his smirk widening as he raised Equilibrium in a threatening manner towards the doppelganger. "You look like you belong in a polluted ocean, you undead freak! I bet any Toxic Squids that come across you would _loooove_ to pick you clean!" he taunted, unflinching as Dark Matt let off an angry howl.

"You are the most horrid of Godcat's _favored children_ I've seen yet!" the doppelganger hissed, rushing forward with blinding speed. The air around him distorted violently as he went, his blade gleaming crimson as he approached. Matt rushed onward, embraced in a similar aura, and blades started clashing vehemently with the force of avalanches and with clangs similar in intensity to church bells.

Dark Matt hissed as his blade snapped in two from the sheer power of the Equilibrium, backing off and throwing his useless weapon aside. Digging into an Adventure Pouch-like object, he procured a long spear ending in a drill-like tip. "I shall impale you both, one after the other, even if it's the last thing I do!" he cried, rushing onward once more, still embraced by the distorting aura.

"Bring it, you rotten wad of black pudding!" Matt snarled, darting forward to meet the attack in another violent head-on collision. Spear and blade slashed this way and that, sending more sparks flying as they hit each other in loud throngs again and again. The doppelganger backed off and swerved around his living counterpart, rushing towards Natalie instead.

"Oh, so now you come after me," Natalie mused, smirking as she threw up a third barrier. By the time the attack met with her defense, the aura around Dark Matt had substantially subsided, and the fact that the drill-spear had only one sharp point that was the very tip had helped somewhat. The barrier had still cracked, however, and she knew it wouldn't be long before it shattered entirely.

An aura began encasing her body, one white and pure, causing four wings clad in feathers to flare wide from her back. Her eyes glowed with power as the wings grew larger and the white that had surrounded her body began to glimmer and whirl, forming a cross behind the mage. Dark Matt stopped his onslaught immediately, darting away, and his eyes wide as dinner plates as the light began to get brighter. He dropped his spear and kept backing away, only to stiffen as his back hit one of the rocky walls.

The light continued to grow, becoming as bright as the sun, forcing Matt to shield his eyes with an arm. "Is that what I think it is?" he mumbled, eyes squinting to keep his retinas from burning.

"Holy shi—" was all Dark Matt could utter before the light expanded through both ends of the cavern, producing a wide vertical beam that tore a hole through the ceiling and shot straight up into the heavens. The black ice cage shattered as well, barely muffling the final pained cry the undead doppelganger gave as he disintegrated then and there.

**OOOOOO**

Anna and Lance stood side by side, their weapons raised in preparation to take down their foes. Their eyes were fixed on a pair of shadowy figures beside one of the torches that they knew were darker version of themselves. Twin pairs of crimson eyes glinted in the darkness, staring straight back at them. Lance's face was set in a furious scowl, though his hands still trembled from the cruel illusion he'd been trapped in. He glanced at Anna, and noted her expression was tight, and her eyes shadowed from whatever she'd been forced to witness. He briefly wondered what she'd seen, and whether it had been similar to his own illusion.

A sudden cackle from the shadows drew the gunner's attention back to their foes. He saw Anna nock an arrow in his peripheral vision and realized she'd switched her bow out for Angel Wing. He nodded to himself, seeing the logic behind the switch. The area was dark, so it would be harder to aim, especially with Iron Tooth. On top of that, he could feel the darkness emanating from the shadows, and knew the light enchantment on the bow would be more effective.

Anna let loose with the arrow, and listened with satisfaction as the arrow connected, causing an angry shriek to echo in cavern. A second later, and a shower of glowing arrows rained down, sticking in the shoulders of the shadows. Lance's eyes narrowed as he realized the arrows would show them where their foes were, as long as they remained imbedded in them, anyway.

"The evil you is using Black Widow," Lance told Anna quietly.

Anna nodded slightly, "I saw. If you get hit, keep moving to try and avoid the spikes they summon. Evil you is using Shadow Blaster. I tried to hit him when I broke the illusion, but he's too fast."

Lance's face flickered with a smirk as he brought Super Snipe around. "Not fast enough," he promised in a dark tone.

A second later, and a black arrow came shooting out of the shadows. Anna twisted aside, and listened as the arrow skittered across the ground behind where she'd been standing. She watched Lance return fire with a Flame Burst. For the briefest of moments, the flames illuminated their foes, throwing their grotesque faces into sharp relief.

Lance's evil clone wore his Officer Coat, and carried a gunblade in his right hand. Had he been standing directly in front of Lance, he would have been a mirror image in height and weapon placement. The similarities stopped there, however. Dark Lance had solid black hair, and his skin was a disturbing gray color. The flesh was missing entirely from the lower half of his face, leaving white bone gleaming in the darkness. His eyes were empty black sockets with red lights in the center.

Dark Anna looked exactly as she had at the end of the illusion Lance had been under. She had blood red hair, and flesh the same disturbing gray color as Dark Lance. Bloody stitches ran across her neck and cheek, heading down beneath the neckline of the black dress she wore. Her eyes were also empty sockets with glowing red centers. Her face was set in a sneer that twisted her undead features. Her clothes smoldered with embers and she raised her bow for another attack in conjunction with Dark Lance.

Anna dashed to the side and kept running as a string of bullets rang out. She heard them ping into the stone just behind her feet, and heard Lance load his own gunblade to return the fire. More shots rang out, and drew the dark clones' attention. Anna seized the opportunity to fire a Soul Arrow at her evil self. She let loose the glowing arrow and watched as it slammed clean into Dark Anna's stomach. She saw the last of Lance's volley slam into Dark Lance's arm, tearing a hole in the black fabric. Neither one seemed to even be fazed by the hits on their bodies, nor did they show any signs of pain.

Lance moved towards Anna, keeping a wary eye on their foes. Once he was within hearing range, he whispered, "Fire seemed to work really well on evil you. Evil me has some damn good accuracy, and I'm not sure what might work on it besides light."

Anna nodded slightly, "Got it. I'll switch to the Crimson Dragon. Think we should focus our efforts on one at a time?" She slung her Angel Feather Across her back and tugged out the red longbow.

"If possible, yes," Lance agreed. He eyed the pair watching them and added, "Something seems off about them, though. Beyond their grotesque features, I mean."

Anna's mouth quirked in a half-smile, "Yeah, your face looks really wrong."

Lance shot her an amused glance and joked, "Definitely going for cremation when I die now." His tone became more serious as he loaded six bullets into his gunblade, "What I meant are those auras they're getting. Every time we hit them, the aura gets stronger. Keep an eye out for something dangerous."

"Will do. Let's take down evil me first. That hair is so wrong," Anna said.

Lance chuckled and raised his gunblade, "You're being awfully concerned about appearances today."

"Well red is just wrong on me, and you have to agree that having your jaw missing is just gross," Anna replied as she fired off another arrow.

Lance snorted, but didn't reply as he fired off all six bullets at Dark Anna. Their attacks ripped through the doppelganger's chest, leaving behind a bloody cavity with ribs jutting out. Despite the mutilation, the shadow remained standing. The aura Lance had noted to be forming around the shadow was rippling with a malicious and dark energy. The dark ranger knelt on the ground and a glowing blue, arcane symbol began to trace itself on the ground around her. She stared at the pair as they warily backed away. Dark Lance stood behind her, readying a powerful attack.

"You failed to save me or my people," Dark Anna suddenly hissed. The magic she channeled grew stronger by the second.

Lance flinched at the sudden speech and verbal attack. He knew the shadow was just trying to get into his mind again, but he couldn't resist thinking about what he'd witnessed in the illusion. He took a half step back and mumbled, "Th-that was…"

"Not his fault," Anna cut in sharply. Her eyes flashed with anger as she went on, "The only people at fault for that aren't here. I don't know what you are, and I don't really care, but we'll be putting a stop to you."

Dark Anna's eyes glowed even brighter as she cackled, "How will you be able to stop me when you're frozen in place?"

A second later and a frigid chill like nothing Lance and Anna had ever felt before swept through the cavern. A howling gale swept around them, driving shards of ice and snow across their skin, and biting through their clothes. Anna gasped as she felt ice forming around her, but before she could begin to free herself, the ice encased her in a massive block. Lance had launched into motion immediately, managing to avoid being frozen solid, but still suffering from the bitter cold. The gale ended as abruptly as it started leaving a layer of ice on the floor and a massive block with Anna frozen at the center.

"Anna!" Lance cried, already swinging Super Snipe around.

The gunner began channeling fire magic into the gun, aiming at the base of the iceberg surrounding the ranger. A bullet slammed into his shoulder, throwing off his aim. Lance gritted his teeth and twisted his rifle around again, determined to free Anna. He ignored the pain flaring from his shoulder as he blasted the ice encasing Anna, freeing her from her frozen prison. The ranger gasped as soon as she was free and collapsed to her knees, shivering on the ground. She yelped a second later when Lance suddenly dove in front of her, taking an arrow to his already wounded arm.

Anna's eyes widened and she forgot about the cold cramping her limbs and the shivers wracking her body. Her eyes narrowed furiously and she stood up, knocking a single arrow to her bow. She drew back the arrow as far as it would go and sighted for her evil double. Mana swirled around her and her weapon, setting her hair and clothes flying. She let loose her arrow and watched with cold eyes as it screamed towards her foe.

The Power Blast slammed straight into Dark Anna's face, incinerating her upper body. A dragon made of flames appeared above the torso and legs that toppled back, and crashed down, setting what remained on fire. The flames flickered and when they cleared nothing remained of the Dark Ranger. The black bow left behind burst into several wisps of black that dissipated with an echoing and ghostly wail.

Lance was already healing the wounds on his arm as he watched Anna decimate her doppelganger. With his wounds healed, he stood up and set his sights on his own evil clone. Anna stepped up next to him, her clothes and hair dripping water and her body still shaking from cold and rage. Still, her face was set in a determined glare. They had taken one down, there was one left to go.

Dark Lance glanced at the scorch mark that remained of his ally, uncaring of her defeat. "Such a pathetic creature, yet a perfect replication of your lover's own frailty," he rasped in a rattling voice. He turned his red eyes back on the pair before him and added, "True strength is only attainable when alone, you would have done well to listen to father's teachings. You could have been so much stronger than he was; so much crueler."

"Markus was a fucked up bastard, and Lance is better than he was by far," Anna snapped. Her mind flashed back to the horrible scene she'd witnessed during her illusion. While she couldn't be sure that that was how the event had played out in the past, what she'd seen had been chilling enough. She shook herself and hissed, "Leading innocent creatures on only to murder them in cold blood is not strength, and forcing those kinds of twisted ideas onto an equally innocent boy is sick."

Lance started at the vehement anger in Anna's voice. He glanced at her, wondering what had brought on the renewed wrath towards his childhood. His eyes narrowed as he saw the ranger's eyes turned inwards, seeing something else, and he realized that her own illusion must have been of his own past. He turned his eyes back to their foe and sucked in a shuddering breath. This fight was just twisted and wrong. It took their greatest fears, most trying times, and attempted to use those to break them. Anna brushed her shoulder against him in a silent show of support and Lance nodded.

"She's right. If you're basing your own strength off of that man's teachings, then I'm pleased to tell you that you are a fool," Lance told his double in a level voice. His tone dropped ominously as he added, "Let us show you just how weak you really are."

Anna switched back for her Angel Wing bow and sent a volley of arrows arcing up and down on Dark Lance. The shadow skillfully dodged all of them, only to find himself in the path of a Hyper Beam from Lance. The blast of magic struck the shadow head on, blasting him through the air and into a wall, cracking the stone. A Combo Shot from Anna flew after him, thudding home in his chest.

Dark Lance stood straight with the three arrows buried in his chest, and the fabric of his clothing tattered and burned through. His eyes glowed with fury and he raised one hand. Lance's eyes narrowed as he spied a radio in his double's hand. A second later, and his eyes widened fearfully as he heard him speak.

"Firing protocols all green. Orbital Lock established. Target acquired, commencing laser bombardment."

"Shit, Anna, Reflex, now!" Lance snapped. Already he was focusing as much mana as he could into a barrier similar to Natalie's, but much weaker.

Anna already had her flute out and was rapidly playing the tune for the spell. Both could feel the incoming mana, and they braced themselves for the impact. The laser blasted straight through the roof of the cavern, slamming down on the pair, who had already begun to sprint away. Their efforts got them out of the direct path of the blast, but they still felt the mana burning against their backs, and large chunks of stone came crashing down from the ceiling.

Before the dust had settled, or they could heal their wounds, two bullets cracked out of the cloud. Anna went down with a cry and clutched just above where a bullet had slammed into her leg. Lance toppled down next to her with a choked groan and one hand on his stomach. Blood leaked out from where he'd been hit, but he turned his eyes to where he could see his double standing on a boulder above them. The reddish glow from the lava outside made him a hellish silhouette with only his glowing eyes able to be seen.

Lance placed one hand on the floor, and focused all of the mana he could gather into the stone. Dark Lance started and glanced down at his feet, sensing a massive buildup of mana. He swiftly loaded two more bullets, and raised his gunblade, intending to take Lance down before the attack could be finished. Just as he raised the weapon, pure mana exploded upwards, encasing the shadow in a column of power. The black stones of the floor cracked and shattered, and when the light cleared, all that was left was a discarded Shadow Blaster and gunblade. Both weapons vanished in the same way that Dark Anna's had: bursting into wisps of darkness with an echoing cry.

Silence fell, and with it, Lance collapsed sideways with a groan. Pain flared from the bullet wound in his stomach and he gritted his teeth with his eyes squeezed shut, but was too drained to heal it just yet. He heard Anna speaking to him, and cracked his eyes open to see her hovering over him with a worried expression. His lips twitched into a grimacing smile.

"And that is how we kill evil clones," Lance mumbled.

Anna gave a strained laugh as she placed one hand over the wound on Lance's stomach, prying his own away. She focused healing mana into the wound, slowly sealing the seeping hole and relieving the pain, and only stopped when Lance let out a relieved sigh. She smiled when the gunner sat up and pulled Anna into a tight embrace. They'd made it out alive and whole.

Suddenly, both of them felt a rush of powerful light magic sweep across them. Their eyes turned to the hole left in the ceiling and they saw a pillar of pure white light, shooting up into the sky. They recognized the powerful attack as Natalie's Genesis, and wondered if their friends' battle was still going on or if that had been the last attack for them for their own struggle.

Lance staggered to his feet and waited for Anna to rise as well. They looked around, searching for some way to reach where Matt and Natalie were, and puzzled over the fact that they had all entered one cave, but somehow became so separated that they couldn't even hear their friends' attacks. Then, a wind swept through the cavern, setting the flaming sconces flickering. When the wind died, they found themselves back in the original cavern with Matt and Natalie standing not far away, looking tired but safe. Strangely, none of the damage of their battle remained and the shadowy veil had been lifted.

Natalie had still been embraced in a white glow, but it was fleeting. The wings on her back closed as they vanished, letting off a few feathers that dislodged and drifted down to land at her feet before likewise disappearing. She fell to her knees, forehead beading with sweat, "Remind me to not cast a barrier before Genesis activates again unless it's a necessity."

Matt also fell to his knees, his breathing shallow, "That was kinda a necessity, Natz."

"I know," the mage replied with a weak nod.

"Are you two okay?" Anna asked with concern in her voice.

The pair smiled reassuringly and nodded.

"Just tired is all," Matt assured. "How about you guys?"

Lance shrugged with a wry smile, "Going to need some brain bleach to remove the image of my rotted face, but otherwise fine."

"You haven't seen what the evil me looked like," Natalie retorted, shaking her head with a wry smirk of her own.

Anna suddenly piped up, her eyes focused on a narrow staircase at the end of the cavern they'd been walking towards before being attacked. "Think that's the way to the staff?" she asked.

"It had better be," Matt grumbled, walking towards the stairs. "If we went through all of that… saw… all of that and this isn't even the right place, then I'm going to be a very unhappy man." His voice was dark, and his eyes shadowed with remembered horror at the illusion he'd suffered.

Natalie glanced at him and quietly asked, "What did you see?"

Matt's face twisted and he murmured, "Nothing anyone here needs to hear, least of all you. Trust me."

The mage's face paled and she whispered, "Oh… You saw my… imprisonment, huh?"

"Not quite," Matt breathed. "It was considerably worse than that. He… didn't stop."

The other three's eyes widened and they shuddered. None of them wanted to imagine how it must have felt to watch someone so close to them go through such unimaginable pain. Illusion or not, that was a cruel scene to witness, if the swordsman's shadowed face and dark tone had been anything to go by. Matt's fists clenched briefly before he seemed to shake off the memory.

"Let's go," Matt said firmly.

The others gathered behind the swordsman and they cautiously made their way up the narrow staircase. The walls forced them to go single file, winding upwards on uneven, black stone steps. Each of them kept their hands clenched around their weapons just in case something else attacked them. But they reached the end with no further conflict, and stepped out on a rocky plateau. Lava bubbled up like a spring of fiery water, flowing down either side of an obsidian altar, and ending in a pool of lava.

Resting upright on the volcanic glass was a long staff of gleaming gold. The head of the staff was five-point star with a hollow center. Set just below the head was a smaller, golden moon. The shaft of the staff was burnished gold, ending in a small twist at the bottom. The party's faces each split into wide smiles of elation. They'd found and retrieved the final weapon. Shooting Star was theirs.

Natalie darted forwards, intending to scoop up the staff. In her excitement, she tripped over a stone jutting out of the ground, sending her stumbling forwards to catch herself on the shrine. She raised her foot to rub her stubbed toe, ignoring the snickers coming from Lance. The mage reached out with one hand and grasped the golden staff, instantly feeling the power flowing through the ancient weapon. She turned to the others with her new weapon in hand, slipping away the Seraphim into her Adventure Pouch.

Pointing her new weapon at the jutting rock she tripped on, she proceeded to playfully pout, "That rock was mean to me!"

Lance and Matt stared at the rock for two seconds before they doubled over laughing, followed in short order by Anna as the ranger held a hand onto her face.

Natalie shot a mock-glare at the group, "Stop laughing and show the rock who's boss so that it may never trip me up again!"

Matt gave a short bow, still laughing and ran over to pick up the offensive stone. "Whatever you wish, m'lady," he said with a grin, shooting a mock-glare at the rock before hurling it into a nearby stream of magma. "May the evil rock never trouble you again."

At this, Lance and Anna laughed even harder, both stopping after a few moments to catch their breath. Natalie leaned on her new staff and smiled brightly.

"Let's go find some place to rest," the mage suggested.

Anna nodded, "And get a drink. I'm parched."

Matt gazed down the side of the volcano, spying landmarks as if he'd known them from some time ago. "There's a place not too far from here where we can get some water; it's closer than heading back to the teleport crystal, too," he suggested.

The others' expressions brightened and they eagerly motioned for Matt to lead, looking forwards to getting a long drink and some rest.


	25. Chapter 25

The four exhausted, hot, and thirsty heroes trekked across the barren land at the base of the volcano. Matt confidently led the party to the northwest. He scanned the landscape, mentally noting several familiar landmarks. Lance picked up his pace to walk on Matt's left. Anna moved up as well, hanging back just a little behind them. The swordsman glanced at Lance and the others, taking in the tired expressions on his friends' faces with a frown. The fight against their horrific doppelgangers had strained them all, both physically and mentally.

"Are you guys holding up okay?" Matt quietly asked.

The gunner gave a slight nod, "It's over now, and I'm glad. I was wondering where we're going?" The women merely nodded in agreement.

"There's a river not too far from here," Matt replied. "We should be able to see it in a minute."

Natalie spoke up on his right, "How do you know that? I'm pretty sure we've never been here before."

"I grew up near here," Matt explained with a shrug.

The other three blinked in surprise.

"Do you have family around here you want to visit?" Anna asked.

Matt shook his head, "No, my family is all dead. My family's home is probably still there, though."

His friends froze and it took a few paces before Matt turned to look at them in confusion. The other three stared at him in disbelief.

"You have a _house_ and you never thought to mention it before now?" Anna finally asked.

Matt shrugged, "House, isn't quite the right word for it. I haven't been back there in about twelve years, anyway."

Anna looked confused, "Why wouldn't you call it a house?"

Lance snickered, "It's probably made out of furs stretched over branches."

Natalie smiled at the huff Matt gave as he turned away and kept walking. She hurried to catch up to him and asked, "Can we go see your house? It would be a good place to rest and recover; unless it's going to bring back some bad memories, of course."

The swordsman was quiet for a long time before finally sighing. He glanced back at the others and reluctantly nodded, "I'd rather not, but we do need to get some rest, and it's a good place to do that. Let's head to the river first. We're nearly there anyway and we can follow it to my… house."

Sure enough, after just a short time of walking, the group spotted a splash of green and saw the edge of water. Anna cheered and ran ahead of the others, causing Lance to let out a grumble and run after her with a call to slow down. The ranger laughed and ran faster, ducking into the bushes at the edge of the water. Lance pushed into the shrubs and fell down with a shout of surprise when Anna tackled him.

Matt and Natalie smiled as they watched them. Both were glad Lance would no longer be haunted by his father and that Anna seemed to finally be recovering. It had been too long since they had seen her so carefree and in such a cheerful mood, and that appeared to make Lance happy too. The pair jogged to catch up to their friends and laughed as the gunner sat up with Anna on his lap and leaves caught in his hair. Lance poked Anna on the nose with a small smile as she laughed. The couple stood up and brushed themselves off before smiling at their two friends. Together they headed down the sloping bank to the water.

"Water, glorious water," Matt sighed as he splashed some on his face.

Natalie slipped up behind him and shoved the swordsman into the river. She burst out in laughter when Matt sat up, spluttering in the shallow water with a mock-glare at her. With a wicked smile, the swordsman splashed some water at her and chuckled when she gave a small shriek.

Anna's face split into a grin, "Might not want to do that, Matt. Natalie cheats in splash fights."

The mage snickered and said, "I thought we determined making more water isn't cheating?"

"Yes, but throwing the water is," Lance reminded her with a snort. His reward was a small blast of water from the mage. The gunner's eye twitched and he leveled Natalie with a flat look, "I think I have to take that as an act of war."

Natalie's eyes widened as Anna smirked and shoved her into the river next to Matt before jumping in after her. The swordsman grinned, grabbed Natalie's waist, and flopped backwards. The mage thrashed and shot up with a spluttering laugh, only to gasp as Lance kicked some water her way. Soon they were all laughing and splashing in an all-out war. Finally, Natalie and Matt gasped and called their surrender with bright smiles.

"You win, you win," the mage laughed.

Anna cheered, "Yes! That was much easier when my foe doesn't use water magic."

Lance chuckled and waded out of the river to flop on the bank. "That was fun," he said with a sigh. He laughed and added, "Much better than hiking up a volcano to face evil us, certainly."

"Definitely," Matt agreed. He ducked his head into the water one last time before standing up and stepping out of the river. He flopped next to Lance with a smile, "We haven't taken a break just to have fun in way too long."

The two women followed their lead with nods and content smiles. They lay there for a while, simply enjoying the surprisingly warm breeze and company. A grumble from Matt's stomach that was echoed by the other three finally made them all sit up. Matt's face fell some as he looked up stream and he stood up with a sigh.

"Might as well get going," he announced.

The other three nodded and stood up as well. Matt took the lead and led them along the river. Anna snagged Lance's hand and hummed as she walked. Natalie smiled up at Matt and tucked herself against his side, despite their still damp clothing. There was silence for a while until Natalie broke it.

"So what's your house look like?" the mage asked.

Matt shrugged, "You'll see in a minute. It's on a hill not much further from here." He shot a look at Lance and added, "And it isn't made of furs."

The gunner laughed, "I was just joking about that."

"You said you haven't been there in twelve years. Why'd you leave?" Anna asked.

The swordsman shrugged again, "There were a number of reasons. One of the main ones was my parents left me the house when they died and I wasn't ready for the responsibilities that came with it. I left after just a couple of weeks to start adventuring."

Natalie pulled back with surprise, "Wait, you were running around slaying monsters alone when you were, what, ten?"

Anna's jaw dropped when Matt nodded, "Did you have a death wish?"

"No, I just didn't really think about the consequences at that age. Besides, I met a lot of people who helped me along the way until I was able to take care of myself," Matt said with a small chuckle.

Lance snorted, "I can believe that. How long before you met Natalie?"

"I met her when I was fourteen," Matt said with a smile.

Natalie laughed, "More like I found him bleeding out in the woods and healed him."

Matt rolled his eyes, "It wasn't that bad."

"Right, of course: you were just faking unconsciousness," Natalie sarcastically replied as she shot Matt a smile.

Matt looked ahead and let out a silent sigh. He glanced back at his friends and said quietly, "Please don't treat me any differently when you see my home, guys."

Natalie looked confused and slightly concerned, "Why would we do that?"

Whatever Matt had planned to reply with was cut off by a gasp from Anna that was soon echoed by Natalie. The other two turned to see them staring at something ahead. Lance frowned and glanced over his shoulder to see a large mansion sitting on a hill. A smaller house was set slightly further away, a quarters for the servants of the manor. Large fountains, which were currently drained, sat in various places around the mansion. The gunner's jaw dropped and he turned to stare at Matt.

"You lived in _there_? Were your parents servants here, or something?" Lance asked in amazement.

Matt shrugged and didn't reply. He squared his shoulders and headed up the grassy hill with the others close behind him. The swordsman headed straight past the smaller house and across a carefully manicured lawn. He didn't even glance at the large gardens or fountains and walked straight up to the large double doors. He reached out and grasped a knob.

"Uh, shouldn't we knock first?" Natalie asked.

Matt silently shook his head and pushed the door open, beckoning for the others to follow as he stepped inside. The other three exchanged glances and after a brief hesitation, walked inside as well. Almost immediately, there were exclamations of the lavish design until a new voice pointedly cleared their throat. The four spun to see an older man eyeing them with disdain. They wondered how they had missed him as they were sure there hadn't been anyone there before.

"You are currently engaging in an egregious trespassing. I must insist you leave or I will be forced to call the security beasts," the man said in a smooth voice.

Matt stepped forwards before the others could react. "That won't be necessary, Samuel," he said quietly. "They're my guests."

Samuel frowned and peered at the swordsman for a moment before his eyes widened, "Master Matt?"

Lance made a choking sound, "' _Master_ ' Matt? Dude, why didn't you tell us you're rich?"

Matt ignored him for the moment and addressed Samuel, "Yes, I'm home. Can you run a few baths for us and set up a guest room? Oh, and if Grace is still here, could you ask her to whip up some food?"

The manservant's face showed some mild distaste as he glanced at Anna, Lance, and Natalie. He took in all four of their damp and muddy clothing, and eyed their weaponry with a small crinkle of his nose. Matt made a shooing motion prompting Samuel to bow and leave as silently as he had come.

Matt released a sigh and turned to face his astonished friends. "A little big to call a house, huh?" he asked with a weak smile. The others stared at him and his smile fell away. "We can rest up here for as long as we need to. I'll tell the servants you guys are welcome anywhere at any time and to treat you as family."

Lance gave a small grin, "I wish you'd brought us here sooner. Which way to the bath?"

"Upstairs, attached to the room you and Anna will be staying in," Matt quietly replied.

Anna finally closed her jaw and gave herself a shake. She eyed the uncomfortable look on Matt's face with a small frown. "You don't look happy to be here," she noted.

"I'm not happy, no," Matt admitted. He waved a hand at the lavish surroundings, "I never felt comfortable living like this. It's dull. On top of that, I never liked having people waiting on me, and I didn't earn any of this, among other things. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to come back and relax at if there weren't a thousand and one rules of etiquette to know."

Natalie gave him a sympathetic smile, "I would imagine you find them mostly pointless, too."

Matt made a face as he nodded, "Just wait until dinner when they're giving us disapproving looks for using the wrong fork, or placing your napkin wrong, or whatever else that violates their sense of decorum. You'll get what I'm saying then."

Lance burst out laughing, "So wait, you learned how to eat and act like a normal human and choose not to?"

Finally, the swordsman relaxed and cracked a smile, "Well duh. It was one of the best ways I could drive my parents up the wall. Now it's just easier than using proper manners."

Samuel came in at that moment and bowed, "Your baths are ready, sir."

Matt's smile faded again and he gave a small sigh, "Thank you, Samuel. You can go; I'll lead them up there." He cut off Samuel's protest before it even began with a firm voice, "I'm positive that it's fine. We promise not to get lost. We'll call you if we need anything. And please don't call me sir, or master, or bow, or whatever. You know I hate it."

"Of course, sir," Samuel said with another bow.

Natalie giggled as Matt rolled his eyes and led the way to the baths. She caught Matt's arm and grinned up at him, "Stuffy, isn't he?"

"I used to try getting him to quit with the bowing all the time, but it's his job," Matt said with a sigh.

He led them down a long hallway with polished wooden floors and an arching ceiling. Numerous paintings hung on the walls and the wallpaper had gold foil on it. Every few feet a piece of elegant furniture held expensive looking vases of flowers. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the large windows were framed by thick velvet curtains. The swordsman turned a corner and head up a large flight of stairs to another hallway. He stopped at one room and turned to Lance and Anna.

"This is you guys' room while we're here. Feel free to poke around the house and grounds after you're done with your baths, and let me know if any of the servants give you trouble," Matt announced.

Anna frowned, "Are you expecting them to?"

Matt nodded, "Oh, yes. Samuel already thinks you're a bunch of filthy peasants and I'm sure that's how he'll describe you to the rest of the staff. They'll probably keep thinking that until I chew them out, too. Sorry."

Lance waved a hand, "Eh, we probably are filthy peasants in comparison to your royal lineage."

The swordsman winced. "Please don't mention my lineage anywhere within Samuel's hearing. And don't think you're worse," he pleaded.

Anna's frown deepened, "He's joking, Matt. Lance wouldn't admit you're better than him in any way even at sword point, anyway."

"She's right," Lance agreed. "Besides, I'm hardly going to start bowing to you, or whatever; even if you have a sweet house and a ton of money."

Matt relaxed some and his face heated with embarrassment, "Sorry. Being here… It's weirding me out. I'm used to people bowing before me in this kind of atmosphere and I _really_ don't want to see that from any of you. Anyway, go relax and we'll see you at dinner." He smiled and added, "The food will be awesome. The expected table manners, not so much, but you can ignore the looks."

He and Natalie waited until Anna and Lance headed inside their room and shut the door. Matt turned and led the mage further down the hall. Natalie's head twisted and turned to look at everything they passed. She stopped at a large portrait on the wall. The painting was of a younger Matt. His face was solemn and his long, blond hair tied in a single, loose braid. The plait draped over one shoulder. He wore a fancy looking outfit and looked like royalty. Matt stopped next to her and looked it over with a sigh.

"I suppose wanting to leave the easy life was pretty stupid, huh? You name it I could probably have gotten it," he said in a quiet voice. He snorted and added in a slightly bitter tone, "I could probably still get it."

Natalie shrugged, "I've never lived in a rich environment before. It looks nice on the outside, but I would imagine having to look and behave perfectly at all times would be exhausting."

Matt's eyes were distant as he nodded, "It isn't just that. There are certain things nobility claim should never be done by people of wealth. Things you're expected to understand and conform to. Who you can talk to, how you can dress, what you can or can't be seen doing. It's a nightmare and not worth the comfort. Like, if my parents were still alive now and I introduced you to them and said I loved you, they'd probably pay to have someone stuff you in a sack and cart you away. It wouldn't have mattered to them that I love you or what you're capable of doing. It wouldn't even have mattered that you've saved my life countless times."

The mage gaped at him, "Wait, what? Seriously?"

Matt turned away with a frown and kept walking, "My parents were big on appearances. Having their only child love a ' _poor girl_ ' would have been a blemish on their idea of a perfect family. I was never close to either of them because of all the restriction they put on me. They traveled a lot, anyway, and that only made me more distant to them."

Natalie caught up to him, "That's stupid. I'm glad you don't think like that."

The swordsman threw her a half-smile, "You can thank my tutor for that. He was awesome. He had an unbiased view of nearly everyone and everything, and was probably my biggest role-model. He was the one who persuaded my parents that I should have sword fighting lessons. Luckily, swordplay is considered an upper-class sport or else they would never have agreed to it."

"Sounds like he was an awesome guy," Natalie said with a smile.

With a grin, Matt nodded as he stopped in front of a paneled door. He pushed it open and waved Natalie inside. The mage grinned at him as she passed before her jaw dropped at the enormous bedroom. There was a plush, cream-colored carpet cross the floor. A large window that led to a balcony dominated the far wall. A four-posted canopy bed sat in the middle of the room with thick blue sheets and dozens of matching pillows on it. Two doors led to the bathroom and a closet.

Matt dashed past a stunned Natalie to leap onto the bed. He rolled onto his back with a sigh and his arms spread on either side of him, "I have to admit: I missed this bed a lot."

Natalie laughed, "You would miss the comfy bed; probably the food, too."

The swordsman sat up with a grin, "Oh, yeah. Grace makes _the_ best food _ever_. You haven't lived until you've had her apple pie, by the way."

She smiled back at him and said, "I'll be looking forward to it. For now, though, where's the bath?"

The mage followed Matt's pointing finger to a door sitting slightly ajar. She pushed it open and called back with a laugh, "That is not a bath tub, Matt; this is a swimming pool."

She shut the door behind her, closing off Matt's chuckles and admired the huge tub. It was circular, completely made of marble, and definitely could have passed for a small pool. The water went up to the brim of the tub and was slightly steaming. Fluffy white towels were laid out on the side of bath along with an assortment of soaps and washes.

Natalie grinned and stripped down, spreading her still-damp dress out to dry. She stepped into the water and lowered herself down with a content sigh at the heat. She ducked under the water to wet her hair and came back up with a bright smile. Soon, she was smelling the different soaps and washes and scrubbing down. Then she simply sat there, enjoying the warm water. Natalie stiffened at a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she called, sinking lower in the water.

Matt's muffled voice came through the door, sounding slightly amused. "I'm sure you're having a great time in the pool, but I'd like to wash up and eat sometime today."

Natalie flushed before smirking, "Why don't you come in too? The water is great, and it's not like there isn't enough room." Her smirk widened at the choking sound Matt made. "Seriously, Matt, come on in. I need some help with my back, anyway," Natalie called with a light blush.

The door inched open and Matt poked his head inside. He eyed Natalie in the tub with a bright blush and said, "You sure?" He gulped when Natalie nodded and waved him inside.

"You're my boyfriend of almost three years, I've known you four more years than that, and I trust you. Now get in here," Natalie said in a firm voice.

The swordsman slipped in and shut the door again. He hesitated for a second before pulling his jacket and shirt off, leaving him in just his pants. He paused at a gasp from Natalie and looked up in confusion to find her staring at his chest. Matt glanced down, spotted the scars on his chest, and stiffened.

"When did you get those?" Natalie asked in a quiet voice, still staring at them.

Matt sighed and stepped forward to pick up a wash cloth and some soap. "While you were being held prisoner," he admitted. "I told you I got in a fight with Lance and Anna over moving faster, right?"

Natalie nodded as she turned around and pulled her hair out of the way. Matt moved to scrub at her back, trying to keep his eyes focused on his hands and not let his eyes or fingers drift lower. He continued explaining as he worked.

"Well Lance really tore into me about needing rest. He had said something about not quite being able to remember why we were friends. I probably deserved it for saying Anna could only run when she was in danger of getting killed, and I had attacked them in the caverns. So, yeah, I… wasn't thinking very clearly while we were tracking you. That night, I heard a noise and left them at the campsite to rest while I went to check it out."

He trailed off as he felt Natalie's back stiffen and she turned her head to fix him with a disapproving look. He averted his eyes and pulled away to let Natalie duck into the water to clear the soap away. Matt's voice fell even further, "Anyway, I ran into several Origin guys out in the woods. They were good fighters, too. Not as good as us, but still too much for me to handle on my own. I killed them, of course, but it cost me. I must've had a dozen or so different wounds from the fight. Then, Lance and Anna found me bleeding out. I-I don't really remember much about that other than apologizing for being such a jerk and asking them to be sure to save you. Lance… he looked so scared for me, so it must've been ugly."

Natalie spun around, sending water splashing, "You never told me you nearly _died_. It must've been seconds away or Anna's magic wouldn't have left marks. Well, that, or she was tired still, but…"

She trailed off with a frown at Matt's sudden blush and stare before her own eyes widened. She crossed her arms over her chest with a bright blush and ducked even lower in the water. The swordsman swallowed heavily and apologized as he stepped back. He began to head for the door when Natalie called for him to wait.

Matt stopped, but shook his head with his back facing away, "No, Natalie. Your back is cleaned. I'll wait outside until you're done."

Natalie's face fell as she watched Matt leave. She wondered if maybe she had pushed him too far or that maybe he'd been lying back at the mountain temple about wanting her. The mage shrank down in the tub so the water came up over her nose and she blew a few bubbles. Finally, she rose up and stepped out of the water. She grabbed a towel to dry off and then wrapped herself in a thick, white robe.

"I guess I can't blame him," she murmured, picking at the soft fabric. Tears prickled in her eyes and she mumbled, "He could have anyone he wants, why would he go for the damaged mage girl?"

Natalie's head lowered and she gathered up her dress before stepping out of the bathroom. Quietly, she informed Matt that he could bathe now. The swordsman gave a silent nod, still not looking directly at her, and slipped into the bathroom. Natalie stared at the door for a little while before moving to flop on Matt's bed. She snuggled into the sheets with a sad sigh. A knock at the room door had her sitting up again though.

"Come in," Natalie called.

Samuel stepped inside and politely averted his eyes as he said, "I am here to gather your clothing to be cleaned. Dinner will be ready in an hour."

"Oh, thank you," Natalie said. "My dress is on the back of that chair there. Matt's clothes are probably with him in the bathroom."

"You should not address the master so familiarly. He deserves far better than whatever you can offer him, though I suppose your body means that you would pass well enough as a mistress," Samuel said in a snide tone.

The manservant ignored the flinch Natalie gave and moved to knock on the bathroom door. He listened to Matt's muffled reply and opened the door to retrieve the clothing the swordsman had left beside it. "Dinner will be ready in an hour, Master Matt. Shall I ask Grace to bake a pie as well?" the servant asked. He bowed as Matt sighed and said yes, gathered up Natalie's Pope's dress with a sniff, and left the room.

Natalie stared out the window with tears in her eyes. She took a shuddering breath and stood up to pull a different dress out of her Adventure Pouch. After a moment of deliberation, she pulled out her Red Dress and tugged it on. She left her hair down to dry and moved to stand on the balcony. Natalie leaned on the railing and stared across the fields and gardens, with a frown on her face. After a while, the door opened behind her.

"Hey, want to head for dinner?" Matt asked.

Natalie shrugged and said without turning around, "I'm not really hungry right now. I'm thinking of going to bed."

The swordsman frowned at her dull tone and stepped out onto the balcony. He watched the mage's silhouette against the setting sun for a moment. Her shoulders rose and fell in a silent sigh, slumping some when she breathed out again. Matt stepped forwards to lean on the railing with her and felt a flash of hurt as she shuffled away from him.

"What's wrong, Natz?" Matt asked in a soft voice.

The mage shook her head, "Nothing."

"Is it really nothing?" Matt asked with a disbelieving frown.

Natalie glanced at him from the corner of her eyes and tried for a smile. She let it slip off when Matt's face took on a worried cast. With a sigh, she turned to face him, "Why are you dating me?"

Matt looked confused at the question, "Because I love you."

"But, _why_ ," Natalie pressed, "Why me?"

"Why not you?" he asked with a puzzled frown.

"Because I'm a mess, because I'm not good enough, because you deserve better," Natalie listed in a dull voice.

"What brought this on?" Matt asked with an alarmed look. His face fell as he glanced back in his room, "Wait, let me guess: someone said something to you, didn't they?"

The mage shrugged, "He had a point. You deserve far better than me."

Matt's back stiffened and he fixed Natalie with an upset look, "It isn't about what I do or don't deserve. I'm with you because I want to be, Natalie. I love _you_. _You_ make me happy, don't you get that?" His voice fell and he asked in a hurt tone, "Do you really think I judge you based on what others have done or your wealth?"

"No, but…" she mumbled.

"But what?" Matt asked with frustration. "Is this about how I reacted in the bathroom?"

Natalie took in a shuddering breath, "Samuel said I'd only pass as-as a mistress. And…"

Matt's jaw dropped and he cut her off, "He said _what_? That's it, he's fired. I don't care how long he's worked here or how many generations his family has worked here. I'm going to fire him and then kill him; maybe not in that order. Or maybe I'll fire him with fire." A small laugh from Natalie brought Matt up short.

The mage's eyes were glimmering with amusement as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, Matt. You're right that this started with the bathroom thing. Samuel just… pushed me a little further than I might have otherwise thought. I kind of figured you were having second thoughts about me, and- and if you didn't want me even like that then maybe he was right."

Matt scowled, "Look for the record: I left because I didn't want to jump you or something. You're beautiful in more ways than one, Natalie, and I've wanted you for years. I'm just worried that you aren't ready for that, yet. As for what Samuel is implying; I couldn't care less about what his ideas are of who is or isn't good enough for me. I'll tell him he's fired at dinner and that he has until morning to pack and get out."

Natalie wrapped Matt in a hug. "Thanks, Matt. I… was a little worried that you were getting sick of waiting for me. I shouldn't have doubted you, I'm sorry."

With a smile, Matt returned the hug, "You're welcome and I'll always wait for you." He pulled back and linked his arm through Natalie's, "Now, how about that dinner? Plus, I want you to meet Grace. You'll like her, trust me."

"I forgot about dinner!" Natalie said with wide eyes. She frowned at Matt's laugh, "What?"

The swordsman leaned closer and conspiratorially whispered, "It's fashionable to be a little late."

Natalie snorted, "Oh, really? And how does your stomach feel about that?" She grinned as she heard a loud growl, "It sounds unhappy to me."

Matt laughed and led Natalie back inside and down the halls again. He paused by the guest room they'd left Lance and Anna at and knocked on the door. As he had suspected, the pair were still inside. Lance opened the door and grinned at them. His red hair was damp from the bath and he looked entirely relaxed.

"Figures he didn't tell you guys," Matt muttered. He shook his head at Lance's confused look and said, "Dinner's ready."

Anna let out a cheer and dashed out of the room, "About time! I'm hungry enough to eat Lance!"

"Again?" Lance asked with a satisfied smile. He suffered a smack to the arm that Anna gave him.

"Well, I think we know how they passed the time," Matt loudly whispered to Natalie with a grin. Anna lightly smacked his arm, too; though her increased flush was telling. "Ow! Okay, I'm sorry!" Matt yelped, ducking behind Natalie, who merely stepped aside with an amused smile.

Matt warily eyed the ranger as he led them down the halls to a set of doors. The mouth-watering smell of food filled the hall and Matt pushed the door open with a wide smile. Inside was a large, square table covered with food. The swordsman stepped inside and plopped down in a chair with Natalie beside him. Lance and Anna sat across from them. The four had just begun to serve themselves when Samuel walked in and gave a small cough.

"Master Matt, I believe I have told you countless times in the past that it is not proper to serve yourself," the servant said in an exasperated tone.

Matt looked up, his eyes frigid. "I'm not your master anymore, Samuel," the swordsman informed the servant in a soft voice that had the other three tensing.

Lance glanced up at Matt with a worried frown, wondering what had him so angry all of a sudden. Anna's eyes shifted from the servant to Matt and back again. Natalie's eyes remained fixed on her plate. Samuel looked confused.

"I… am afraid I do not understand what you mean," the servant said.

"You're fired. You have five seconds to get out of my sight. I'll give you until dawn to pack and leave, but I do _not_ want to see you in that time," Matt explained in that same soft tone.

Samuel's jaw dropped, "But-but, sir! I have worked-"

"Five."

"-for your family for my entire life-"

"Four."

"-and my parents worked for you before I did!"

"Three."

Samuel's face set, "May I at least ask why?"

Matt eyed him for a long moment, eyes still icy. Finally he stood up, and he moved to stand directly in front of the former servant. Lance tensed in preparation of stopping Matt from attacking, but relaxed when the swordsman waved a hand in his direction.

"I told you that they are my guests, and you didn't listen. You'll find that telling the people close to me that they're only good as my whore is a great way to piss me off," Matt informed Samuel in a hiss. "Now get out of my house and get out fast, because I promise that I will not be as pleasant if I see you again. I've defeated gods, I've killed countless monsters, I've beheaded dragons, and I think you'll find that you are a lot weaker than any of those."

With that, the swordsman turned back to the table. Before he could sit down, though, Samuel spoke up once more.

"Your parents would be ashamed of the company you keep now. Fine, I will leave. Have fun with your whore," the man sniffed.

A split second later and Matt whipped around with a wordless snarl. Samuel's eyes widened at the feral expression and he staggered back in fright as the swordsman lunged at him. There was a crack as Matt's fist slammed into the former servant's nose, breaking it. He reared back for another hit, but was tackled by Lance. The pair struggled for a moment until a new woman burst into the room. She took in the scene with shrewd eyes and sucked in a deep breath.

"MASTER MATT! Settle down right now, or I will not be giving you any pie. You with the red hair: let the master up. Samuel, I heard the whole thing and I am appalled at your attitude. It's your nose that's broken, not your legs, so stop moaning and get out," the woman bellowed.

Instantly, there was silence broken only by pained moans from the man on the floor. Lance cautiously let go of Matt, who stood up with a sheepish grin at the new woman. He glanced at Samuel and clenched his fists again, but he moved back to his seat. The gunner stood and headed to his seat as well, with a bemused look at the woman who was nodding with satisfaction. Finally, Samuel staggered upright with blood running down his face. He fumbled for the knob behind him and let himself out.

"Good. I didn't like him, anyway," the woman calmly said. She rubbed her hands together and smiled at the four people around the table. "Now then, I know Master Matt detests table manners, so please eat your food however you like and I will be back shortly with your dessert." With that, she bustled back out the door she had come in from, leaving the room in complete silence.

Anna cleared her throat, "Well, then. That was, uh, interesting. I find the fact that I have three forks to be equally interesting. Do they expect me to use all of them at once?"

Matt laughed, "I think with the way they're set, you use the one closest to your plate for your salad, the next one over for your dinner, and the last one for dessert." Suddenly, he frowned at his own cutlery and muttered, "Wait, maybe it was the other way around? Hang on, maybe something with the tine length or spacing?"

Natalie chuckled, "I say just pick a fork and use it. They all work the same anyway."

Lance was way ahead of them and had already stuffed some food in his mouth. He swallowed with a grin, "This is, hands down, the best food I have ever tasted."

The swordsman nodded with a grin and began shoving food into his own mouth.

There were a few minutes of dedicated eating when Natalie gestured at the door the woman had left through, "You're right, I do like Grace. At least, I'm assuming that woman was Grace."

Matt was staring at the door with a longing look, having finished his food in the first minute and craving apple pie. He nodded and said, "Yup, that was her. She's the best cook ever. Plus, she's very laid back."

Lance sighed in contentment after he swallowed the last of his food. He leaned back in his chair and asked, "Can we just live here? I could get used to the food and bedroom."

Anna laughed, "As awesome as that would be, I think I would get pretty bored." She frowned and glanced at a small smudge of blood left on the floor from Samuel's broken nose. "And if the majority of the servants act like him, I don't think I'd be very happy."

Lance leaned forward again and his eyes flicked between Matt and Natalie, "So let me get this straight, the ass told Natalie she was only good as a whore?"

With a shrug, Natalie said, "Well, the word he used was mistress, but yeah, that's what he told me."

"Why?" Anna asked with a glare at the door the servant had left through.

Lance tilted his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh, "I'm going to assume it's because of her boobs, right?"

The gunner sat up with a start when he felt something get rubbed on his forehead. Reaching up, he swiped his finger through it to discover someone had smeared whipped cream on his head. Grace eyed him with a spoon in one hand and a platter in the other. Her mouth twitched into a smile as the other three laughed at Lance's disgruntled expression.

"Maybe that will teach you not to comment on someone else's girl's chest; and across from her boyfriend, no less. For shame," the woman scolded. She turned to Anna and said, "Samuel is very old-fashioned. He thinks Master Matt should be marrying up or doing some other equally ridiculous thing. Frankly, I'm glad to see him go."

"Me, too," Matt muttered. He shot a look at Grace and added, "You don't have to call me master, by the way. I'm not my parents and won't punish you for not saying it."

Grace tutted him, "Ah, but that is exactly why I do it. I believe you are worthy of the respectful title." She smiled at the taken aback look Matt gave her. "I do hope you won't pull another twelve year vanishing act, by the way. I worried about you nearly the entire time, and I admit that I was skeptical when Samuel came bustling in with an order from you to make some dinner. Now then, have some pie."

She turned and set the platter she had down and uncovered a large pie. Immediately the mouth-watering scent of baked apples, cinnamon, and brown sugar filled the room and Matt cheered. He turned to Grace just as she was leaving.

"Join us?" he asked as he reached for the pie.

Grace hesitated, glancing back at the kitchen door, "I really should go clean up, you know."

Natalie smiled up at her, "Clean up after some pie. Besides, you made it, so you should have some."

With a laugh the woman nodded and sat down, "Oh, very well. A small piece, at least."

They devoured the pie with comments of how delicious it was. Grace smiled and thanked them for the compliments. She shook her head with a laugh when Matt went back for fourths. Lance set his fork down and declared he couldn't eat another bite and pushed what was left on his plate over to Matt with a small snort. The cook watched their interactions with an appraising eye and a small smile. Finally, she cleared her throat.

"So, Master Matt, we need to talk," Grace said.

Matt winced, "Is this going to be a lecture about running off when I was ten?"

The woman laughed, "Partially, I suppose. It would have been nice to get a letter at some point, but I knew you were all right. I heard about a young blond by the name of Matt who ran around saving the world a few times. Samuel nearly had a fit when he heard all about it, by the way. 'Very improper for a nobleman to be at the frontlines,' he said."

Anna laughed, "Good luck keeping him off them. Even if he wanted to, he'd end up in the thick of it."

Grace nodded with a twinkle in her eyes, "He was always getting into trouble, even around here. The number of times he slipped off to play at the river and came back covered in mud drove the late masters batty." She shook her head with a fond smile, and then turned her attention back to Matt. "What we really need to discuss is about the staff, estate, and other obligations," she said.

"I guess so since I just broke the head butler's nose on his way out the door," Matt agreed with a sigh. He frowned for a few moments then asked, "Is Allen still here? He'd make a good head butler."

"He's still here, but several others aren't. Samuel laid off most of the staff since you left. The idea was that you could hire some new ones if you came back, and didn't need to be paying them," the woman replied.

Matt blew out an aggravated breath, "It's not like I'm hurting for cash. I'm going to guess that he probably fired most of the ones that weren't super stuffy, too. Can I see a count of the current amount of gold in the vault?" He paused and said, "Wait, actually, let's do that in the morning; we're really tired. Can you tell Allen I'm promoting him and that I need a list of all current staff and a count of how much money I have? It doesn't need to be too precise; I have a bunch of gold on me if, by some insane miracle, I'm short. We can talk about what I plan to do with the place tomorrow."

Grace nodded and stood, "Very well. I'll see to it as soon as I'm done with cleanup. Is there anything you need for tonight?"

Matt glanced at the other three in question, but they all shook their heads. "No, I think that's it for now. Good night, Grace, and thanks for the food. It was as amazing as I remembered," he said with a bright grin.

The woman bowed as the others added their thanks. She stood straight and scooped up some of the dirty plates before heading into the kitchen with them. Matt slumped and buried his head in his arms on the table with a sigh.

"Ugh, now I need to figure out what to do with the damn mansion," he muttered. "And I'm sure there are at least three dozen other problems that I need to sign off."

Natalie cocked her head, "Why not keep it? It's not like you need to follow the rules your parents set. Grace certainly appreciates that kind of management and it would save them all from having to find a new place to work."

Matt shrugged, "That's true, I guess. I just don't like how huge it is. It's _way_ too big for just me; for anybody, really."

Anna snickered, "What about you and Natalie? Bigger could be better; lots of surfaces to cover. Well, except the bed Lance and I are using. We took care of that for you."

Lance burst out in laughter at her words. The other two looked confused for a moment until they got what she meant and brilliant flushes blossomed on their faces. The gunner leaned over and gave Anna a quick kiss.

"I'm a horrible influence on you," he chuckled.

With a blush, Matt said, "And on that note, Natz and I are going to bed. Feel free to be as loud as you want, you two; the second floor walls are soundproof."

The gunner smirked and tugged Anna up, "Sweet, I guess Anna gets to scream this time. Maybe we'll take care of the dresser for you, too. 'Night, Matt, Natalie."

With that, he tugged a red Anna out the door, leaving Matt and Natalie still sitting down with light flushes. Matt cleared his throat and stood up. He waited for Natalie to stand and led the way back upstairs. Once in his room, Natalie moved to the bed and flopped down on it. She buried her face in a pillow and felt Matt sit down on the bed as well.

"Hard to believe Anna will say stuff like that, now," Matt said with a laugh.

Natalie's chuckle was muffled through the pillow. She rolled her head to the side and looked up at Matt with sparkling eyes. "Should we warn the servants to knock before entering their room?" she asked in an amused tone.

Matt laughed, "I say no so that we can poke fun at their embarrassment later."

Natalie snorted, "She's going to throw one of your swords off a cliff if you tease them, remember? And I doubt that the fact that there are no cliffs nearby will stop her."

"Good point," Matt agreed with a nervous glance at where Equilibrium was leaned against the wall. He turned back to Natalie with a smile, "Ready for some sleep?"

Natalie hesitated and quietly asked, "Matt, I think I'm ready for what they're doing. Can we... try tonight?"

The swordsman stilled and shot her a look, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why not?" Natalie asked with a disappointed frown.

"Because I'm a little worried that you're still thinking you're only good as a mistress. Not tonight, Natz," Matt said in a level voice.

Natalie frowned at him, but slowly nodded, "Okay, not tonight."

Matt caught her cheek and said, "And please don't start thinking it's because I don't want you, got it?"

The mage nodded again with a small smile before she rolled onto her side and shut her eyes. She felt Matt tug the sheets down from under her and slide in next to her. He pulled the sheets back up over them and shifted closer to her to wrap an arm around her waist and tug her back against his chest. He let out a yawn and murmured a soft goodnight before slipping off to sleep.

Natalie smiled with her eyes closed. She was lucky to have such an awesome boyfriend. She carefully rolled over to look at his sleeping face in the moonlight. He looked completely relaxed and content. His mouth was set in a small smile and he let out a soft sigh when Natalie pressed a gentle kiss to his chin. She snuggled down against his chest and shut her eyes, falling asleep.


	26. Chapter 26

Natalie woke the next morning feeling completely rested and happy. She carefully squirmed out of Matt's loose hold on her waist and slid off the bed. She stretched her arms over her head and let out a long, relaxed sigh. She glanced back at Matt and sighed for a different reason. She was getting a little frustrated with his wanting to wait on sex. Still, he was doing it for her, so she couldn't really find it in herself to be mad at him. She shot one last fond, if exasperated, glance at Matt and headed out of the room.

Just outside the door, she ran into a man in servants' clothing with his hand raised to knock on the door. The man stumbled back and fell over. He had short brown hair and blue eyes. Natalie blushed in embarrassment, and gave him a rapid apology to which he merely smiled and shook his head. The man stood up and bowed to Natalie.

"Pardon me, my lady," he said as he straightened up.

Natalie shook her head, "No, no, that was definitely my fault. And please just call me Natalie. I'm no noble lady."

The man tilted his head in confusion, "You are a lady, though. However, if it bothers you that much, I can call you Natalie."

"That would be awesome, thank you," Natalie sighed with relief. She gestured to him, "What's your name?"

"My name is Allen, apparently the new head butler," the man said with a wry grin and an amused look in his eyes. "It was quite the surprise promotion. I was unaware Master Matt had even returned until Grace came through after Samuel left with a bloody face. Anyway, I came to ask what you might like for breakfast."

Natalie grinned, "Lots of bacon and eggs for Matt, though you probably already know that. I'd like the same things, though not as much, and some toast, please."

Allen bowed again, "Very well, I will head down and let Grace know. It should be ready in an hour or so."

Natalie nodded and watched as he turned and left. She let out a sigh and wandered down the hall towards Lance and Anna's room. She hoped they were awake. She wanted to talk to them about something and she wasn't sure if she could get a straight answer with Matt there. She stopped outside their door and knocked firmly. She waited patiently until Anna cracked the door open to see who was there.

The ranger smiled and opened the door the rest of the way to let Natalie in. Lance was sitting in a chair, cleaning his gunblade. He glanced up and nodded a greeting to the mage before letting his attention drop back to his weaponry. Anna flopped back on the bed with a cheerful grin. Natalie smiled back as she settled down in a different seat by a desk.

"What's up, Natz?" Lance asked, setting his weapon aside.

Natalie shifted uncomfortably and finally sighed, "I have a couple questions I wanted to ask you guys."

Anna sat up and sent her a worried look, "Something wrong?"

"No, not really, or at least not anymore, I don't think," Natalie said with a shake of her head. She looked between them and asked, "Did you guys ask me to teach you healing because of what happened to Matt while I was captured? I'm going to guess yes, but I want to know for sure."

Lance and Anna both stiffened. They exchanged a glance, unsure of what to do, or what had brought the question on. Finally, Lance nodded. Natalie was just about as recovered as she was likely going to get for a while. Purposely hiding information she knew they had would only hurt her; maybe even cause a setback.

Anna heaved a sigh and admitted, "That was a large part of it, yes. My other reasons were true, too, but the push was because of what happened."

"How- How bad was he?" Natalie asked hesitantly.

"Mentally or physically?" Lance asked with a shadowed look. He shrugged when Natalie merely said both, "Mentally, he was pretty screwed up. He blamed himself for letting them get away with you and for attacking us. He wouldn't even sit near us for a short while because he thought he might attack us again."

Natalie frowned, "I was under the impression that he was mad and impatient at the time. He told me that he said Anna could only run when she was in danger of getting killed. Is that true?"

Lance nodded, "Yes. We had been pushing to run faster; Matt most of all. Anna had just collapsed when he said that. We had a pretty major fight there, and I may or may not have told him he'd make a good target if he said anything like it again." His face darkened and he shook his head, "I also told him that I couldn't figure out why we were friends, then we basically ignored him for the rest of the day. I shouldn't have said that though, but I was tired, worried about you and Anna, stressed, angry, and hungry. I didn't even think about how he was feeling at the time. And we both should have kept an eye in him. Maybe if we hadn't ignored him, had caught his depression earlier, he would have stayed in camp that night. But he didn't."

"Is this the physically part?" Natalie asked quietly. She gulped when they both nodded.

Anna's voice was low and her expression haunted, "Just a couple of nights before we got to you, he ran into a bunch of Origin assassins in the woods alone. He'd already killed them by the time Lance and I got there, but gods, there was so much blood coming from him. He was so close to dying, Natz, so close. I thought he had for a few terrifying seconds when he passed out after the fifth Refresh spell."

"And the worst part was that he thought he was a bad person, and that we didn't care about him at all," Lance quietly went on. "He thought maybe he deserved it for being so crappy to us, and I was so sure he'd died believing that. Even after Anna confirmed he was still alive, we worried that he wouldn't make it to dawn. Still, he did, and he recovered as quickly as he always does, with a little medicine and rest."

Natalie heaved a shuddering sigh, "So the scars did come from being that badly wounded. Thanks for telling me guys. And thank you for looking out for him."

Lance shrugged, "No thanks needed. He's a good friend and we were at least partially to blame for the situation. So, was curiosity really all you wanted to know for, or was there something else?"

The mage shook her head, "No, not just that. He already told me a lot of it, but I was worried that maybe he'd left some parts out to avoid having me feel guilty over the situation. I figured you two would be willing to tell me the whole story without omitting details. And I needed to prove to myself that I wouldn't blame myself for it. Thanks for clearing it up."

Anna smiled, "No problem. Was there anything else?"

Natalie flushed and nodded. She ducked her head to avoid the interested looks the other two gave her and mumbled, "I was… thinking of asking Matt to sleep with me tonight. Do you guys think that's a good idea?"

Lance smirked, "Totally, as long as you're ready for it."

Anna had a matching smirk, "Matt will like that, I'll bet."

Their smirks faded as Natalie looked uncertain.

"Hey, if you aren't ready then don't do it," Anna said seriously.

"I think I _am_ ready for it, but I'm not sure Matt wants it," Natalie said. "He seems to think I'm not ready for it yet, and I don't know what to do. He says he'll wait until I'm ready, but when I said I was, he backed off anyway."

"Stupid swordsman," Anna muttered with a roll of her eyes. She smirked and suggested, "You could always get naked and tackle him. That would get your message across loud and clear."

Natalie head ducked and she whispered, "He says otherwise, but I'm worried he doesn't really want me like that. And I realize that it isn't the most important part of a relationship, but it's making me nervous. Maybe we should go back to being just friends."

"That's bullshit," Lance said in a flat voice. "You are his world. He's so much happier with you as his girlfriend, and the same is true for you. He wanted to be with you as a couple for years, though he was too oblivious or shy to try. When it finally happened, he was ecstatic. If you suggest breaking up now, he'll assume it was his fault and that he deserves it. He won't even fight your decision, no matter how much it will hurt him, if he thinks that it's what you want."

Anna nodded, "Don't pull the leaving thing on him, Natz; not over this. It will seriously hurt him and you; trust us. We did that—granted on a much more drastic scale—and it was very painful to both of us. Besides, even if you stayed his friend, it could never be like it was. He's too much a part of your life and you're too much a part of his for that to ever work."

Natalie sucked in a shuddering breath and nodded, "I don't want to break up with him anyway. So what do I do then? I want him and he wants me, so how do I make it happen?"

Lance shrugged, "Really, he'll eventually muddle through it on his own before much longer, especially since you've told him you're ready. You can try Anna's idea of a nude tackle, but I doubt you're comfortable with that."

Natalie flushed, "Yeah, I'm not okay with that."

Anna chuckled, "I was just joking. Give it time, Natalie. Keep prodding him gently, and he'll come around, promise."

Finally, Natalie nodded with a small smile, "You guys are right." She stood up and glanced at the door, "Think breakfast is ready yet?"

"Probably," Anna replied, bouncing off the bed.

A knock sounded at the door and Lance moved to open it. Matt stood there with an uncertain look on his face. He saw Natalie and let out a silent sigh of relief when she smiled and cheerfully greeted him. He'd been worried she was mad at him for postponing the sex last night and was planning on ignoring and or hiding from him. Still, he was a little confused as to why she was with Lance and Anna. The other couple was giving him flat looks, but they said nothing.

"Uh, breakfast is ready," Matt said in a hesitant voice. He wasn't sure what the looks were for.

The three nodded and filed out of the room and started down the hall. Matt remained where he was watching them with confusion. He wondered if maybe they hadn't slept well, or if Natalie had interrupted them in the middle of a round. He followed a little behind the other three, and decided that they weren't mad at Natalie at all, just him. A small flicker of doubt began to creep up in him, but he pushed it back down with a shake of his head.

They sat around the dining room table, once again piled high with food and drink. Matt remained mostly silent as he ate. His eyes still watched his friends as they chatted. Every once in a while, Lance or Anna would shoot him a look and he got the distinct feeling they were upset with him. Natalie never showed any sign of noticing any odd behavior, though, and Matt wondered if maybe he was imagining it. He decided, after another cool look from Lance, that no, he wasn't. Finally, Matt stood up and quietly said he needed to go talk with Allen about the house.

Matt leaned against the wall outside the dining room and let out a sigh. He straightened up when he saw Allen coming down the hall with a distressed look on his face and a stack of papers. The swordsman frowned and moved to speak with him. The head butler looked relieved to see him and gave a wan smile.

"Good morning, Master Matt," Allen said.

"Just Matt is fine," the swordsman sighed. "What's the worried look for?"

The head butler grimaced, "You, ah, have a surprise guest."

Matt started, "Who could even know I'm back?"

"The Lady Lillian," Allen said in a low tone as he heard the voices inside the dining room die down to listen to the conversation going on in the hall. "Apparently, Samuel informed her this morning that you had returned."

Matt groaned and turned to lightly beat his head on the wall. The rhythmic thumping brought his friends out of the dining room. Lance snorted at the display of Matt's frustration.

"Family vault been looted, mister money?" he asked with a chuckle.

Matt groaned and let his head rest on the wall. "I wish," he muttered, "Is it too late to fake my death, Allen?"

Allen chuckled, "We would have to have arranged that last night to produce a convincing double, sir. Shall I tell her you're unwell?"

"Tell who?" Anna asked.

"Lillian. I guess I have to go deal with her before the house crap," Matt grumbled, standing straight. He straightened his shoulders and headed down the hall. He called back over his shoulder as he walked away, "Remind me to murder Samuel, Allen."

Allen chuckled and let out a sigh. Matt's friends frowned at the unfamiliar name. They stared at the swordsman's back as he walked off. Clearly, whoever Lillian was, Matt didn't like her.

Natalie tilted her head, "Who is Lillian?"

Allen coughed lightly, "His fiancé."

It took several moments for that statement to sink in. Lance and Anna spluttered in shock while Natalie's face paled.

"His _what_?" Anna gasped.

Lance shook his head and rubbed his chin. "Arranged marriage?" he guessed.

Allen sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Yes, they were betrothed when Matt was… six, I believe."

Natalie's wide eyes stared at the butler, a cold panic taking over her. "Can't he say no?" she asked faintly.

"I'm sure that is what he's going to do now," Allen assured them. "Matt has always been adamant about refusing to marry her. I'm sure that was a major driving force behind his runaway when he was twelve. Of course, now that he is an adult and his parents have passed, he can make the decision to break off the engagement."

The mage relaxed some, "Oh, so he can just say no now, and that's that?"

Allen shrugged, "Well, he will have to go through a pile of paper work to get the arrangement annulled, but yes. Assuming the Lady Lillian doesn't pull something dirty, that is."

"Like what?" Lance asked with a frown.

"Oh, nobles excel at dirty dealings," Allen sighed. "I'm sure Matt knows many of them and can tell you, but the common ones are bribes, blackmail, and threats."

They heard a female shriek from down the hall. The head butler bowed to the three standing there and excused himself to go speak with Grace. Natalie exchanged a glance with the other two and headed down the hall following the banshee-like screeches. They stopped before a closed door and knocked on it. The shrieking died down and Matt opened the door. He had a harried look on his face and his eyes pleaded with them to put him out of his misery. Lance snorted and shook his head, much to Matt's disappointment.

"Hey guys, I don't suppose you have a gag or ear plugs," Matt grumbled.

Anna chuckled and shook her head. She raised one fist and slammed it into her other palm with a raised brow. Matt laughed and shook his head.

"Tempting, but no," he grinned.

A high, snide female voice spoke from behind him, "Send the servants away, we are not finished speaking yet."

Matt stiffened and shot a glare over his shoulder, "They aren't my servants, Lillian."

"Then what are they doing here?" Lillian asked in an impatient tone.

Lance cocked a brow, "Standing. Have you got a problem with that?"

Matt was shouldered aside by a young woman with long, curly blond hair. She had large green eyes and perfectly done makeup. Her dress was a long lavender gown and she wore golden jewelry. She would be beautiful if not for the haughty expression she had fixed on her face. Her mouth was twisted in an unpleasant scowl at the gunner.

"Leave us, peasants," she demanded imperiously.

Lance leveled a look at her, "Not your house, lady. And watch what you call us."

Matt scowled at Lillian's back, "Don't call my friends peasants. Unlike you, they are welcome here. And Lance is right that you can't order them to leave _my_ house."

Lillian shot him a sour look, "It will be _our_ house soon. And they are peasants; look at how they are dressed! And they have got you dressing like one, too!"

"No, it will not, because I am _not_ marrying you," Matt said in a tight voice. "And _stop_ calling my friends peasants, or else. They're probably richer than you are, anyway."

"Yes, you are marrying me," Lillian snapped. "It has already been arranged."

"My parents are dead, I'm twenty-two, and I'm choosing to not marry you."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

" _Yes_."

Matt snarled, " _No!_ I've been saying that for years, and now it is official. I. Will. Not. Marry. You."

Lillian sniffed, "And why not? I am part of an old and powerful family, rich, beautiful…"

Matt continued the list for her, "Boring, annoying, fake, a total bitch, and not even close to someone who I want to spend my life with. I don't need your money or prestige, I don't even want it. I have a beautiful girlfriend already, one I actually care about. I will be filing the paper work to break off the engagement, and I suggest you not try anything stupid during the process. Go find Samuel and ask why that is. Now get. Out. You are not welcome here ever again, come back and I'll sic the guards on you, with me leading them."

The woman hissed at him and shoved past the three standing outside the door. They watched her go with raised brows before turning their eyes to Matt. The swordsman slumped down in a chair and rubbed his temples, grumbling under his breath. He fell silent for several long moments before letting out a sigh and standing again. He shot a tired look at the three watching him and shook his head.

"Sorry about that," he muttered. "I was hoping to deal with her before she showed up at my house."

Anna gave him a sympathetic smile, "What a lovely future wife. I truly envy you."

Matt snorted, "You want a wife? Should Lance be hurt or concerned?"

"Unless she's suddenly decided my performance is lacking, I don't think that's going to be a problem," Lance grinned.

"What if I want you in a dress to be my wife?" Anna asked sweetly.

Lance's face fell into a look of horror that made the others burst out in laughter. "No. I love you Anna, but just no," the gunner said flatly.

Anna laughed, "I was joking. You wouldn't look good in a dress, anyway."

Lance rolled his eyes and shot a look over at Matt, "So, mind explaining your sudden twist romance? Is a fiancé popping up a normal thing for rich guys?"

To their confusion, Matt's face suddenly shut down entirely before he walked past them. He turned down the hall, ignored their calls of his name, and headed out the front door. The slam he gave the door shook the paintings on the walls. Anna looked baffled. The other two looked just as so.

Lance frowned, "I get that he's really upset, but that was a bit of an extreme reaction to a question."

Natalie stared after the swordsman, "He's been tense all morning, actually. I wonder what the problem is."

"Maybe you should go talk to him?" Anna suggested.

The mage nodded and followed waved to them as she followed Matt. She stepped outside and looked around for the swordsman. He was nowhere in immediate sight, but Natalie doubted he would have gone far. Or at least, she hoped not; he'd left his sword in his room. It was unlikely Origin would find them here, especially with Markus dead, but not impossible. Plus, there was always the chance that monsters could attack him. She began searching the grounds, checking behind fountains, and bushes. Natalie stopped and frowned as she still couldn't find Matt. She looked around and spied a hill and climbed it get a higher vantage point.

That was where Natalie found Matt, sitting against the trunk of a tree at the crest of the hill. He had his legs crossed and forehead resting in his palms. His blue eyes intently stared down at his lap with his mouth set in a frown. His blond hair hung down on either side of his face. His whole body was tense and Natalie felt a fresh pang of concern for him. She walked the last stretch of hill and settled in the grass beside him. Matt didn't even look up at her. They remained there in silence for a long moment. Finally, Matt heaved a sigh.

"You here to tell me you want to break up?" he asked in a quiet and afraid voice. He still didn't look at her.

Natalie gaped at him, "What? No, of course not! Why would you even think that?"

"Lance and Anna seem pretty mad at me. I figured you guys were upset that I'd been hiding my past," Matt whispered. He shrugged and added even more quietly, "Plus there is the fact that I am technically engaged right now. You could easily make the case that I've been cheating on you this whole time. I can't really say I'd blame you for it. It is pretty messed up of me to start a relationship when I've already been promised to someone else."

"Don't be ridiculous," Natalie said flatly. "You clearly want nothing to do with any of this. And who you want to date, love, and be involved with should only be your choice. I don't consider it cheating if someone else told you when you were six that your girlfriend and fiancé is Lillian, and what you thought of the idea was irrelevant. It isn't their choice, and as far as I'm concerned you are not, and never were, engaged to her. Now what's this about Lance and Anna being mad at you?"

Matt sighed and finally looked up, "They've been giving me weird looks all morning, like they're upset with me. I don't know what I did, but it must have been something."

He let out a grunt that was closer to a sob and mumbled, "They probably don't know how to deal with me since they know I'm rich. I knew this would happen. It happens every time. I'm so tired of it, of people judging me based on my money. That's part of the reason I became an adventurer. I could make something my own and be proud of that fact. _I_ earned my skills and experience. _I_ earned good friends who don't think of my wealth first, personality and happiness second. Or I thought I had, anyway."

Natalie leaned in close to give him a tight hug. "That isn't what they think, don't worry. I had a long talk with them this morning that I know proves it. It's probably what made them give you the looks, too. If they're mad about anything, it's the fact that you've been holding out on some very nice beds and food."

Matt glanced at her with a look of relief and a bit of humor in his eyes. "I guess I have to admit that I would be mad about that, too. What was the conversation about?" he asked.

"I wanted to know the whole story behind when I was captured," Natalie admitted. She flushed and added, "And I wanted their advice on something. But the important thing is that they don't think any differently of you, Matt. I'll tell them to lay off on the looks. They should have known better than to try something so subtle, anyway."

The swordsman stared at her in confusion for a long moment. A light of realization cleared his confusion. Finally, he cracked a small grin and asked, "Are they trying to get me to sleep with you?"

Natalie spluttered with bright red cheeks. Finally, she laughed sheepishly, "I may have asked them for some help there, yes. I really am ready, you know. I want it, but I was worried that you don't. They assured me otherwise, and told me to just be patient." She shook her head, "But that isn't important right now. Right now, you feeling better and relaxing are what are important. You're a great guy, Matt. And you're right that you earned that without your family's fortune. Lance and Anna think so, too, okay?"

"Okay," Matt agreed. He smiled with a gleam in his eyes, "Now, since we're looking for ways to make me feel better and relaxed, and we both want it, let's go to bed."

Natalie's jaw dropped, "Right now?"

"Well, I was going to wait until we were in my room, but if you want it here and now, we can do it here and now," Matt said with a grin.

"Uh, no, waiting until we're inside is a far better plan," Natalie said with a blush. "But don't you have to talk about what to do with the house? And start the paperwork to officially get rid of Lillian?"

"Work before play, huh? Evil, Natz, evil," Matt chuckled. He heaved a sigh, "Fine, let's go get that sorted out and _then_ we can go for a roll under the sheets."

The swordsman stood up and pulled Natalie up as well. They crossed the yard back to the front door and headed inside. Lance and Anna were still in the same sitting room. They looked up and smiled as they saw Matt grinning with a flushing Natalie. Matt led them all down a long hall to a large office with solid mahogany furniture. Large bookcases lined the back wall. Allen was already waiting for them.

Matt grinned at him, "So I have a question: do butlers have mind reading or future seeing powers? Because I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything about being in here yet; this isn't the first time I've noticed this phenomenon, either."

Allen assumed a look of utter seriousness, "But of course. We're granted it as a super power from the god of servants when we finish training." He grinned as they laughed and gestured to a stack of papers sitting on the desk. "I've gathered the items you requested on current assets and staff. I also took the liberty of filling in the forms to annul your engagement to the Lady Lillian. You'll need to sign it and call in an official to give it a seal, but that should take care of that."

Matt let out a laugh of relief, "You're the best, Allen, thanks. So what're we looking at for numbers?"

Allen rifled through the stack and withdrew a piece of paper. "The vault currently has just shy of three billion gold pieces," he said, glancing up at the choked sound from Lance, Anna, and Natalie. Even Matt looked impressed. "Of course, there are your less liquid assets, such as the manor, land, and various other holdings and items. They bring the count up to almost seven billion exactly."

"Jeez, how the heck did your family get that much?" Lance muttered.

Matt glanced at him, "Generations of saving. Plus I think we still own several mineral mines. I'm not sure they're running right now, though."

Allen shook his head, "No, they're closed right now, and have been for several years, ever since you left. Would you like the count of staff next?" He went on when Matt nodded, "Aside from Grace and myself, you have five maids and butlers, and six gardeners."

Matt nodded, "Are they having a hard time keeping up with everything?"

"Not really, we quit cleaning many of the rooms not in use. However, if you would like the rooms all cleaned regularly, then we will need some new staff," Allen said.

"No, what you're doing is fine," Matt said with a shrug. "I want you to tell them I'm doubling their pay and that my friends are welcome anywhere at any time. Oh, and please ask them to quit calling me master. Now where're the forms I need to sign?"

Allen smiled and slid a sheaf of papers over to him. He pointed out a number of lines and handed Matt a pen. To his friends' surprise, the swordsman actually spent the time to read every page. They'd been sure that he'd simply sign the papers and be done with it. Matt flipped through the documents, checking the information and writing, and nodded. He scrawled his signature on each spot and handed them to Allen.

"Stick that in the vault, too," Matt requested. "I wouldn't put it past Lillian to come in here and steal the paperwork to forge a marriage contract. Oh, and set the guard beasts loose on her if she comes back; same thing for Samuel."

"Ah, speaking of, you wanted me to remind you to murder him?" Allen said with an amused smile.

Matt laughed, "I'll do it if I see him, I guess. Thanks for your help."

"My pleasure," Allen said with a bow, "You are far easier to work with than your parents were. I do hope once you leave, you plan to come back." He stood straight and left the office.

Matt shot a grin at his friends, "Now then, Natz and I have something we need to do. See you at lunch Anna, Lance, or maybe dinner."

The pair smirked, realizing what he meant. They called to have fun, snickering at Natalie's bright red face. Matt dragged her upstairs to his room and locked the door. He turned a heated look on the mage and pulled her into an equally heated kiss. Natalie moaned when Matt brushed his tongue across her lips. She opened her mouth and felt his tongue dart inside to rub against hers. Matt pulled back, opened his eyes, and waited until Natalie did the same.

"I need to know if there is anything I should avoid doing," Matt murmured in a serious voice. He held her eyes as she tensed.

With a shuddering breath, Natalie whispered, "I doubt that I need to tell you to be gentle, or that I'm very new to this. Other than that, let… let me take my own clothes off and don't hold me down, please?"

Matt leaned in and pressed another kiss to her lips. "Got it," he murmured against her mouth.

Natalie was at once nervous and excited as Matt's lips moved from her mouth to place kisses along her chin and down to her neck. She felt him pause at her neck and his tongue dart out to lick her skin. For a moment, the sensation reminded her of when she'd been captive, and she tensed slightly before firmly reminding herself that this was Matt, and something she wanted.

Matt paused for a moment, sensing her unease, but he continued when he heard her whisper to keep going. He gently mouthed the skin on her neck, and felt a flash of pleasure when he heard a soft moan from Natalie. He kept mouthing her neck and slowly slid his hands from her back, down to her hips. To his relief, Natalie didn't tense at all, but instead pressed a little closer to him. He smiled against her neck, moving a little further down to her shoulder as he softly massaged her covered hips. Slow was the way to take this. They were both new to sex, and he didn't want to hurt or scare her.

Natalie's hands had been gripped in Matt's shirt, but she released the fabric as she relaxed. She hesitantly ran her hands over his back as he sucked a spot on her collarbone, and both heard and felt him sigh with delight. She could tell he was slowly approaching her breasts, but instead of the slight fear she'd been expecting, she only felt anticipation. His hands remained on her hips, rubbing circles, and he'd moved his lips to another spot on her collar bone, slightly further down, and she felt a steady pulse of arousal. The sensations he was slowly coaxing out were different, but not bad, and she let out a moan.

Matt froze at the sound, having never heard anything like that from Natalie before, but he knew it was a sound of pleasure. He pulled away from her skin and straightened to look at Natalie's face. Her cheeks were bright red from arousal and embarrassment, but she met his eyes with a heated look in her own. Her lips were pulled into a smile as she slipped around him, pulling away from his hands on her hips. He felt her hands slip off his back, and watched her step a little ways away. His mouth became dry as he watched her reach for the strings on the back of her Red Dress.

Natalie felt Matt's eyes on her as she worked the knot holding her dress up, but her eyes remained fixed to one side in embarrassment. She held her breath as she tugged the bow loose and held her breath as fabric slipped down to her hips and then to the floor. She bit her lip and undid her bra as well, and then stood there before Matt with her chest bared, and only her panties as cover. Silence reigned for what seemed like a long time, and it made Natalie fidget uncomfortably.

"You're beautiful, Natz," Matt finally breathed.

Natalie relaxed instantly. She knew Matt thought of her as beautiful, and she knew she was as well, but it always helped to hear it. "Thanks," she mumbled shyly.

Matt pulled his eyes away from Natalie's breasts, up to her bright red face and stepped forwards. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another kiss, pressing her bare breasts up against his still-covered chest. When he pulled back he awkwardly asked, "May I touch them?" His own cheeks were pink from arousal and the intimacy of what was happening.

Natalie's lips quirked into the faintest of smiles even as her cheeks heated further and she began to think maybe she'd just have a permanent blush for the rest of her life. She briefly wondered if Anna had felt this awkward for her first time before drawing her mind back to the present. Her smile turned into a small smirk as she said, "Only if you lose that shirt."

Matt's eyes widened and he let out a soft laugh before reaching for the hem of his shirt, "Of course." He pulled the shirt up and over his head and threw it aside as he asked, "Better?"

"Much," Natalie agreed with a grin. She reached forwards and traced a finger over one of the scars on Matt's chest. She listened to his groan as she marveled in the ridges of his muscles as they dipped under the scar, and brought her other hand up to rub over his abs. She felt his muscles tremble as he held back from grabbing her, and smiled fondly.

Matt relished in Natalie's soft palms tracing over his chest, and wanted nothing more than to return the favor. Still, he held still, not wanting to scare her when she was so relaxed. His eyes were shut and he let out a groan as he felt her fingers brush past his nipple, but they snapped open a second later when he felt her hand grab his wrist. He felt her draw his hand up and place it over one of her breasts, and blinked down at her. She stared back up at him with certain eyes and a small smile.

"We won't get anywhere if you decide to just be a statue," Natalie joked lightly. Her voice was firm as she added, "This isn't entirely about me—you should enjoy yourself too. I'm okay for now, and I'll let you know if something is wrong, okay?"

Matt smiled back, "Got it." He gently squeezed her breast, and listened to the resulting moan with delight. He slowly lowered his head and flicked his tongue across her nipple. The resulting sound from Natalie had him sealing his mouth over the hard bud, and sucking on it.

Natalie ran her hands over Matt's shoulders, letting out moans as he lavished attention on her breasts. Her mind rushed with pleasure, and she all but forgot anything else but Matt and pleasure. Nothing else mattered right now but him and the heated fire he was igniting in her body. Her body jolted and she let out a loud moan when a hand suddenly slid over her crotch, lightly teasing her through her panties. Her eyes squeezed shut at the sudden flare of heated arousal.

Matt pulled away from Natalie's breast, sucking on the nipple until it broke free with a pop. He grinned up at her stunned and blissful face as he rubbed over her crotch. Then his grin broadened into a smirk as he abruptly stopped and pulled away. Natalie let out a whine of confusion, her eyes flickering open to fix Matt with a wanton stare.

"Wh-why'd you stop?" Natalie breathed unevenly.

Matt smiled at her as he stood up, "I just thought we should move to the bed."

Natalie pouted, "You couldn't have waited a few minutes."

"A little impatient, aren't we?" Matt asked in amusement. In all reality, he was pretty eager to get back to it, but he'd rather they be comfortable.

Natalie's lips curled in a smile as one of her hands shot forwards to cup the erection straining against Matt's pants and she rubbed it. She chuckled at his gasping moan of surprise and purred, "I think I'm not the only impatient one."

Matt's mouth curved in a wicked smirk as he murmured, "Get on that bed, vixen."

Natalie felt a pleasant shiver run through her at the husky timber Matt's voice had taken. She let go of his erection, and stepped backwards towards the bed, keeping her eyes fixed on Matt's all the while. She sat down on the edge of the bed and watched as Matt stripped of his pants, leaving him in just a pair of boxers. Then, he approached the bed with a heated look in his eyes and gently coaxed her further back. He followed her onto the bed, and pushed her to lie down on her back, one hand returning to fondling her chest. His lips moved to cover hers again, his tongue slipping into her mouth to rub against hers.

Natalie went willingly, and was rewarded by Matt's hand returning to rubbing her through her moist panties. She arched her back as his fingers rubbed past her clit, and thrust against his hand. She broke their kiss to let her head roll to the side with another moan as Matt slipped two fingers around the cloth to prod at her moist lips. A second later, and her back arched as the fingers slipped inside her. The sensation was weird, but not unpleasant.

Matt groaned as Natalie clenched around the two fingers he'd thrust inside her, imagining the wet heat around a different part of his body. His hips unwittingly bucked to rub against Natalie's thigh before he stilled them, and pulled his fingers out to thrust back in, earning him a cry of delight. A moment after he'd regained control, he lost it again as Natalie's hand rose to caress his erection through his boxers, tugging lightly, and rubbing up and down. His hand stilled inside Natalie as he let out a long groan and fought against the urge to strip them both of their underwear and thrust into her.

Natalie smirked at Matt as he let out a long, low groan. She bucked against his hand to remind him that she was still here as she pulled her own hand away from his erection to finger the waistband of his boxers. Luckily, Matt seemed to get her clue, because he resumed spearing her with his fingers. Her eyes shot wide as she suddenly felt his thumb rubbing against her clit, and she let out a yell of pleasure at the rush of arousal that surged through her. Her hips bucked wildly as she let out pleas for more, for her release that she knew was coming.

Matt watched Natalie come undone as he worked her. Her head whipped back and forth and a faint sheen of sweat covered her body as she ground against his hand. Her breasts bounced and swayed with each motion. Her face was pinched, her mouth open to let out her cries. She was beautiful, caught in the throes of pleasure. He felt her inner walls clenching around his fingers, and moved a little faster against her. Abruptly, her back arched with a scream, her eyes shot wide open, and she shuddered as her orgasm ripped through her. Matt continued to rub her inner walls through her release, feeling her liquid rush over his hand.

Natalie had never felt anything even close to that orgasm. Her vision had gone white as her mind shut down for anything but the immense, powerful waves of pleasure coursing through her veins. She was relatively sure she'd screamed, but wasn't entirely sure. She felt Matt withdraw his fingers as she slowly came back to herself, her breath coming in sharp pants. Her dazed eyes sought him out and a fresh wave of heat and lust ran through her as she saw him licking up her fluids from his hand, his heated eyes fixed on her body. He'd stripped of his boxers at some point during her pleasured high, freeing his erection which rested against his stomach.

"That… was… _amazing_ ," Natalie panted with a wide smile.

Matt smiled back, lowering his hand, "It looked like it was. Are you ready for the next part?"

Natalie paused as she took in Matt's erection. On the one hand, she really, _really_ wanted it. On the other hand, it looked pretty big, and she was worried about the pain of losing her virginity. Still, she knew that Matt would be gentle, and it wasn't like the facts would change if she put it off. Plus, this would be a one-time hurt, and something she'd looked forwards to.

Matt waited patiently for Natalie to speak, doing his best to ignore his painful arousal. He really hoped she didn't back out now, but wouldn't pressure her if she did. He watched her emotions run across her face, moving from nerves to want, to consideration, and finally, she nodded. Matt blew out a long sigh of relief and leaned over to press a kiss to her lips. Natalie eagerly returned the affection, her arms reaching up to wrap around his neck.

"So I was thinking you on top," Matt murmured as he pulled back.

Natalie blinked in surprise, "Why?"

Matt met her eyes as he replied, "Because you told me back at the temple that you felt powerless; that you still feel that way on some level. I think the control being on top will give you will help you put to rest what happened before. You control the pace, and we can change the position later, if you want."

Natalie felt her lips spread in a wide, loving smile. She nodded slowly, "Okay. Thank you and I love you."

Matt smiled back and whispered, "I love you, too."

Natalie sat up and pulled her soaked panties off as Matt lay back on the bed, his head on a pillow. She shifted to straddle him, and felt his hands catch her hips to steady and guide her. She felt her heart begin to race as he lined himself up with her entrance, and then stayed still. She felt his muscles trembling against her thighs, and knew that he was resisting the urge to thrust up into her. The next part was up to her.

With a deep breath, Natalie lowered herself onto Matt's cock. She bit her lip as she felt her body stretch to accommodate him, and paused as the head reached her barrier. She saw that Matt's eyes were squeezed shut, and his hands both gripped her hips tight enough to bruise as he fought against the urge to claim her. His breath came in ragged pants broken by the occasional moan. Finally, Natalie but her lip and lifted up slightly before slamming down, losing her virginity and hilting Matt in one go.

Matt's mouth dropped open to let out a loud groan at the tight, wet heat surrounding him. It was exquisite, perfect, and he just wanted to roll them over and pound Natalie. His hips twitched upwards involuntarily, but he froze at the faint sound of distress that caused Natalie. His eyes flew open and he sought out her expression. His heart fell when he saw the pain on her face, the few tears on her cheeks even though he knew it was going to hurt her.

Natalie was thankful Matt had gone still beneath her. Sharp twinges of pain arced out from her core, and Matt felt too large within her. She knew that in reality, her body was more than capable of accepting Matt's cock, but it still felt like he could split her. She let out a small whine, but it died away when Matt's hands rose to cup her breasts. Her eyes cracked open to see Matt looking up at her with distress on his face. His thumbs flicked over her nipples in an attempt to distract her from the pain of her first time. Natalie tried for a wobbly smile that Matt returned.

"You okay?" Matt asked quietly.

Natalie nodded slightly, the pain beginning to fade, "Yes, just… give me a moment. And keep touching me—it's helping."

Matt nodded, "Take all the time you need."

Natalie felt Matt's hands move to massage her stomach, and felt her body slowly relax. After a few moments, she experimentally rolled her hips, and let out a gasp of pleasure that Matt echoed. She felt his hands fall back to grip her hips, and she returned the smile he gave her.

Matt felt Natalie slowly lift up and drop back down. He let out a groan at the friction, and was glad that she was feeling pleasure now, too. As promised, he let her set the pace, though he itched to go faster. He listened with delight to Natalie's breathy moans as she picked up the pace ever so slightly. Her hands moved to splay her fingers across his chest for stability as she moved faster. Matt leaned up to press a kiss to Natalie's chin, and rolled his hip up as she dropped down again. Natalie shuddered with pleasure at the extra force.

"Do that…. do that again," Natalie pleaded.

Matt grinned fiercely, and began bucking up on every thrust. Natalie's head dropped back as she let out a long, wanton moan, her hands shifting to rest on Matt's thighs. He raised his hands to grope her swaying breasts, squeezing them together, and tugging on the nipples. He curled forwards to suck one of her nipples into his mouth, and lightly bit down on the bud. All the while, he and Natalie moved against each other, moaning, groaning, and panting each other's' names.

Natalie decided this sex was worth the pain of being taken. It was worth waiting so long for, it was worth struggling with Matt to notice her over the years; it was worth every damn thing in her life. She never wanted it to end, but she knew it was coming to a close. She felt her body racing towards another climax, and felt Matt's thrusts begin to become uneven, signaling that his end was near as well. Her breath came in sharp pants as she tried to go even faster to bring about that completion.

"Faster… Matt… _Please_ ," Natalie panted desperately, turning over the pace to him.

Matt grasped her hips more firmly and began tugging her up and down, thrusting up with more force. The resulting cries from Natalie got even louder, and she lost all coherency as she began babbling. His own mind took the back seat as he sought out their release. He lunged to sit up, still bouncing Natalie in his lap, and sank his teeth into her shoulder.

The pleasured pain of that action shoved Natalie over the edge. Her jaw dropped open to let out a silent scream of release. Matt slammed into her a few more times before he held deep and let out a loud groan, releasing within her. Her walls rippled and clenched around his cock as it pulsed. His hips gave several wild, uneven thrusts even as Natalie collapsed to rest against his chest, panting and moaning. And then, finally, they both fell still, the wild moment of release over.

Matt dropped back on the bed, letting Natalie rest on top of him, and keeping his member buried in her body. His chest heaved with pants, and he felt Natalie's heart racing just as quickly as his own. His mouth spread in a wide smile as the post-sex bliss set in. He brought his arms around to embrace Natalie, who was cooing against his neck, and he twisted to press a kiss to just below her ear.

"Thanks, Natz," Matt breathed against her skin. "Love you."

Natalie let out an unintelligible, muffled noise before rolling her head to the side and murmuring, "Love you, too. When can we do that again?"

Matt chuckled breathlessly and admitted, "Not now, that's for sure."

"Phooey," Natalie breathed jokingly.

Natalie rolled off of Matt's chest to lie next to him, finally drawing his spent member from her body. She gave a faint wince at the ache settling in, but ignored it in favor of curling against Matt's side. Her head pillowed on his shoulder and she felt his hand move to trace a lazy pattern on her back. They two lovers lay there for a long time, letting their energy return, and enjoying each other's presence.

Finally, though, Matt sat up, drawing Natalie up with him. "Let's go take a bath, and then snooze the afternoon away," he suggested.

Natalie smiled up at him with a nod, "Sounds good."

Matt slid off the bed, and scooped Natalie into his arms, carrying her across the room and into the bathroom. He lowered them into the ever-full tub of warm water, and finally relinquished his hold on Natalie's waist to retrieve some soap and a washcloth. The mage merely slumped against the side of the tub, watching her lover move around with soft eyes, and enjoying the warm water as it soothed her ache. She made a mental note to use a quick heal spell when they were finished washing as she sat up.

Matt gently ran the washcloth over Natalie's body, pausing every little while to press a kiss to her shoulder. He carefully cleaned around her privates, mindful of how tender she probably was there, while she massaged shampoo into her hair. Then, he turned the washcloth over to Natalie, and let her return the favor. The bathing was slow and their motions languid, but they finally rinsed off and stepped out of the water to dry.

Natalie's eyebrows shot up when they returned to the bedroom to see that the sheets had been changed, and their discarded clothes replaced by their now-clean clothes from the day before, folded neatly on the desk. "You know, I think Allen just might be a magical creature," she joked to Matt as she picked up her staff for a quick heal spell.

Matt chuckled and shook his head, "That or he's a pervert who hung around outside the door, waiting for us to finish."

"I sure hope not. That would be beyond creepy," Natalie laughed.

The mage followed Matt to the bed, both eschewing putting on clothes. They curled together under the sheets. Matt held Natalie lovingly and protectively against his chest, his right arm placed just under her breasts, his left arm under her pillow. Both of Natalie's arms held onto Matt's, her right hand twining with his. They both let out matching sighs, and drifted off to sleep.

Several miles away from the estate, a hooded figure raced through the grass, heading to report what had happened. Natalie the mage was no longer a viable option for the sacrifice to the Primordial.


	27. Chapter 27

Lance sat with Anna on the balcony of the room they were given by Matt. Both were smiling as they watched the clouds pass overhead in the early evening sky. They’d had lunch without Matt or Natalie, and snickered over their food the entire time, as they knew why their friends were absent. Lance stood up, and moved to lean on the railing, looking over the grassy hills and gardens. The air was crisp and the flowers that bloomed were a winter variety.

“He has a nice place, that’s for sure,” Lance commented.

Anna moved to join him, her hair ruffling in the wind. She nudged Lance and asked with a grin, “Jealous?”

Lance snorted, “If I didn’t know about the crap he has to put up with, I would be.” He listened to Anna’s agreeing hum, and they stood in silence for a while. Finally, Lance tilted his head and murmured, “Actually, I don’t think I would be, even if I didn’t know.”

“Why’s that?” Anna asked, though she thought she knew the answer. She waved a hand at the area in front of her, and commented, “He has land, property, money enough to live comfortably for four lifetimes.”

“But he wouldn’t be happy,” Lance said quietly. He tilted his head and slowly added, “I think if I had _earned_ the land, the money, the property, I might be happy, but at the same time, I think I wouldn’t be. I mean, look at Matt: he has all this nice stuff, but he ran away from it at the first opportunity. He comes back for a day and half, and already he has a servant claim the life he built and lived is improper and the love of his life is a worthless outside of sex. And never mind about the whiney snob demanding she marry him based on a promise made by other people when he was small. I would never want to have to put up with that.”

“Mm, people shift what they value when given everything and raised to believe they’re better than others,” Anna murmured. She propped her cheek on one hand and added, “Of course, one small disturbance upsets that fragile image. I imagine that Matt was given something, or exposed to something that gave him a broader view of the world. He can’t have turned out as he did, otherwise. I don’t expect he’ll want to come back here when he leaves. Do you think he’ll sell the place?”

Lance didn’t reply, his eyes fixed on a pair of figures in the yard. Anna glanced at him, and followed his gaze down to see what he was staring at. She tensed, and sucked in a sharp breath. Two hooded figures were stealing through the yard, headed for a side door. Anna exchanged a look with Lance, and they wordlessly ducked back into their room to snag their weapons.

“Do we tell Matt and Natalie?” Anna asked as she followed Lance down the hall.

Lance turned the thought over before shaking his head, “No. Natz needs what’s happening to go smoothly to really get over what happened to her, and an Origin attack would be the opposite of smoothly. Besides, there’re only two of them.” He raised his voice, and called, “Allen?”

Anna jumped as the head butler seemed to simply appear around the corner, already bowing. “Is teleporting another power granted by your ‘ _god of servants_ ’?” she grumbled.

Allen’s eyes twinkled in amusement, “Perhaps. How may I assist you, sir?”

Lance waved a hand, “Drop the sir, that’s just weird to hear. We need you to get all the servants off the main floor to the safest room you have, and point us to where the servants’ door under our room comes in. Don’t bug Matt and Natalie.”

Allen fell into seriousness, “An intruder? Strange that they got past the security… Very well, take the hall behind me and make the second right. You’ll come out in a temporary holding area for food and other supplies. I’ll set the guard beasts to watch the yard after I’ve gathered the servants. Do be careful.”

Lance was already striding past with Anna at his side, though he called his thanks over his shoulder. The pair jogged down the halls, following Allen’s directions. They stopped beside a heavy wooden door, and Anna pressed her ear to it, listening intently with her eyes closed. After a few moments, she pulled back and nodded.

“They’re in there,” she breathed to Lance.

The gunner tightened his grip on his weapon, and placed a hand on the door knob. After a moment’s pause, he flung the door wide open, and darted into the room with Anna at his side, both with their weapons ready. Their eyes fell on the two hooded figures, frozen with their hands on an old wine cask. The taller of the two swung the cask open, and shoved their companion inside before drawing a short sword. He didn’t get the weapon more than halfway raised before Anna fired an arrow into his shoulder.

Lance seized the opportunity to lunge forwards, and tackle the man down, easily pinning him to the floor. He glanced around for something to use to bind the man, and his eyes fell on a long piece of packing twine. He jerked his head at it, prompting Anna to bring it over to wind around their prisoner’s wrists. Lance snorted at the pathetic attempts to throw them off.

“You’re damn fool to come here,” Lance hissed. He hauled the man up, and slammed his head back down, knocking him out. “We’ll leave him here while we retrieve the other.”

Anna nodded, already running her hands over the wine cask, “Not sure why he bothered to shove his accomplice in here when we could already see them.” She found a small hidden switch, and pressed it to swing the cask open. “Well, hello…” Anna breathed, staring down a stone passage at the end of the barrel.

“It’s a hidden passage, maybe an escape route,” Lance mused, already stepping inside. “Come on, we don’t know where this comes out, but I’m willing to bet it’s the master bedroom. I doubt Matt is staying in his parents’ old room, but his room won’t be far off.”

The pair moved swiftly though the gloom, using Lance’s crystal as a dim light source. Their footsteps echoed eerily in the space, despite their best efforts to keep quiet. Further ahead of them, they could hear the slapping footsteps of their target racing ahead of them. They picked up their pace on an unspoken signal. They nearly tripped on a sudden set of winding stone stairs, but regained their footing and began climbing them. They saw light from up ahead, and gritted their teeth as they surged the last few feet, and came out in an ornate bedroom.

Anna bounded forwards, tackling the assassin to the ground just before they could exit the room. She held the hooded figure down, her shoulders heaving for air. Lance came up with the cord from the curtains in hand, and bound that person’s arms as well. He hauled their prisoner up, and pushed them out the door.

“Unhand me, peasant!”  a shrill voice demanded.

Lance froze, and his eyes narrowed. “Oh, you are _kidding_ me,” he grumbled.

Anna relaxed entirely even as she felt a wave of irritation rise up. “I’m pretty sure Matt said not to come back, Lillian,” she said flatly.

“ _Lady_ Lillian,” Lillian hissed. She tried to bite Lance’s hand as he tugged her hood down, and thrashed against his grip, “I said unhand me!”

“The only way I’m _unhanding_ you is if I take your damn hands off,” Lance spat. He shook the woman once and snarled in her face, “You’re lucky we didn’t just kill you on sight, dressed as you are.”

Lillian shrank back at his fierce look, and said in a shaking tone, “Murders! You’d kill a helpless woman?”

“A helpless woman who broke into a nobleman’s house, dressed up in the same kind of robes as the assassins who’ve been trying to kill him and his friends,” Anna spat. She leaned into Lillian’s face and demanded, “Are you working for Origin?”

“I do not answer to peasants!”

Lance rolled his eyes, and jerked the struggling woman forwards, “Come on, Anna, let’s take her majesty down to Allen. I’m sure he has some place we can keep her until Matt can deal with her.”

“I said unhand me!” Lillian screeched, causing her captors to wince at the shrillness of her voice.

“Good thing the top floor is soundproof,” Anna muttered.

Lance grunted an agreement, and flatly said, “Anna, hand me your daggers.”

Anna blinked in surprise at the request, but handed the weapon over. She watched Lance hold it up for Lillian to look at, and grinned as she watched the other woman pale. Instantly, Lillian became meek and compliant in being led down the stairs. Anna called for Allen, who once again seemed to simply appear. The head butler’s eyes widened at the sight of who Lance and Anna held captive, though his eyes soon narrowed.

“I see,” Allen sighed after he was informed of what had happened. “I’ll see that the gardener helps me bring the other one to the holding room. He’s a buff man, and should be plenty enough to restrain an unconscious intruder.”

Lance turned over Lillian, who promptly began struggling again. A split second later and Lance grew tired of her. He whacked a spot on her neck, causing her to go limp. Allen caught her, and nodded his thanks.

“Thanks helping earlier without questing us. We were worried it was someone far more lethal,” Lance told the butler.

Allen inclined his head, “Matt trusts you, so I trust you. Thank you for considering the safety of the staff, and for your swift hand in stopping them.”

Anna watched Allen head off down the hall, a limp Lillian on his shoulder. She turned to Lance and sighed, “Well, that could have been a lot worse.”

Lance nodded, though his lips were pressed in a thin line. He blew out a sigh and said, “I’d like to see what their security actually is. I mean, we had no problem walking right up to the front door, and Lillian and her friend got in with equal ease. Matt mentioned some guards, and Samuel mentioned some beasts, but we haven’t seen anything like that yet.”

Anna nodded thoughtfully, “Let’s head down to where the other intruder is, and wait for Allen. I bet he can show us what the security is here.”

**OOOOOO**

It was just before sunset when Matt woke up. He kept his eyes closed, relishing in the sense of complete relaxation. He smiled as he nuzzled his nose into Natalie’s hair, and inhaled her scent as he remembered what they’d done. He finally opened his eyes to see Natalie peacefully sleeping against his bare chest, her breathing slow and calm. She still had her fingers twined with his, and was still hugging his arm.

Matt’s smile widened as he carefully disentangled his limb from Natalie’s grasp. The slight movement caused Natalie to let out a small noise of discontent, and blindly grope around for the arm again. Matt chuckled and leaned over to press a kiss to Natalie’s cheek. He found himself suddenly captive with tow arms around his head as Natalie kissed his lips.

“Who said you could get up?” Natalie breathed with a small smile as they parted.

Matt laughed, “I wasn’t aware I needed permission.”

“I was snuggling,” Natalie pouted, her eyes finally opening to fix Matt with a put out look.

Matt chuckled, but lied back down. He watched with soft eyes as Natalie crawled over him to lay her head on his chest. He let one of his hand lightly run through her hair, and felt her trace a random pattern on his chest, ending with tracing one of his scars. Natalie's expression was serene, and she shut her eyes with a soft sigh.

“Love you,” Matt breathed.

Natalie smiled, “Love you, too. You’re good at this romance thing. You know exactly what a girl likes.”

“I know what _you_ like, anyway, and that’s all that matters to me,” Matt replied with a grin. He pulled Natalie up, and pressed a kiss to her lips again before letting his head fall back to watch Natalie from lazily half-closed eyes. “Feeling okay?” he asked softly after a moment.

Natalie sat up with a broad smile, “Definitely. When do we do that again?”

“The snuggling or the sex?” Matt asked with a cheeky grin. He let one of his hands trace up Natalie’s thigh and heard her breath catch. His grin widened as he added, “Because I know which I want right now.”

Natalie flushed lightly, and let out a breathless laugh. She leaned over Matt and brushed a kiss across his lips, “I suppose a quick round couldn’t hurt anyone. Better not take too long, though, or Lance’ll get mad at us.”

Matt chuckled, and dragged Natalie down to press a more passionate kiss to her lips. He rolled them over, carefully watching Natalie's expression, but the mage merely arched up into him. He was overjoyed at her complete ease with the situation. He smiled as he leaned to run a series of kisses over her jaw, and decided Lance could wait until later, anyway.

The pair left the room almost two hours later, both smiling and with damp hair from another bath. They were holding hands, and looking very relaxed and happy. Matt’s smile dropped into a puzzled frown as he saw the door to his parent’s old bedroom was open. He cocked his head, and led Natalie to look into the room, thinking someone was just cleaning the space. To his confusion, the space was empty when he peered in the door.

“What’s this room?” Natalie asked, looking around at the lavish designs of purples, reds, and golds. Her eyes fell on a large portrait of two people with blond hair, and blue eyes, sitting beside each other on a rich sofa. “Never mind, it’s your parents’ room, right? Why’d you want to come in here?”

Matt frowned, standing in the middle of the space, eyes running over the various gleaming pieces of polished furniture. “The door was open, so I thought someone was in here,” he finally replied. His gaze fell on where a corner of the rug was shoved into a fold, and his eyes darted to the wall beside the rug. He stepped forwards, and quietly mused, “Someone was in the old exit…”

“The old exit?” Natalie repeated.

“It’s an emergency exit that heads directly to a side door. I suppose at one point my family had a lot of enemies, so they’d need a way to get out if the manor was attacked. The only ones who know about it are the members of the house and the head butlers,” Matt explained, pressing on a seamlessly fitted switch.

Natalie's eyes widened as a section of the wall opened up, a hidden door fitted so well into a nondescript section of wall that she had never even suspected it was anything more. She stepped up next to Matt and quietly asked, “Think Allen was checking it?”

Matt frowned, “I doubt it. He’s good, but I never told him about this exit. It’s possible Samuel came back in to steal something, though. Come on; let’s go find Lance and Anna.”

“You probably shouldn’t kill the man,” Natalie said flatly as followed Matt out of the room.

Matt rolled his eyes, and sighed, “Yes, ma’am. He’d deserve it, though.” He grumbled the last part under his breath.

Natalie caught it, however, and arched a brow. “While I appreciate you defending my honor, or whatever, I don’t appreciate you killing people in my name for insulting me,” she said mildly.

“I’m not _actually_ going to kill him,” Matt assured her. He shot her a grin and added, “But _he_ doesn’t know that. One of the best ways to get what you want is a good old death threat, after all.”

“Would that be one of the nobles’ nasty dealings?” Natalie asked in amusement.

“Among blackmail, kidnapping, bribery, poison, marriages of power, social posing, sanctions-”

“Okay, okay,” Natalie laughed, cutting Matt off. She shook her head, “Sounds like a nasty way of life to me.”

Matt grinned at her, “It is; which is why I wanted out. Way more enjoyable to fight monsters, right?” He glanced around at a slight cough, and smiled as he saw Allen, “Hey, Allen. Can you run a sweep of the manor for Samuel? I’m pretty sure he broke in.”

Allen smiled, “He and the Lady Lillian are already detained. Lance and Anna were swift at that, though they tell me they were expecting someone far more dangerous.”

Matt looked impressed, “How’d they know they were here?”

“Spied them in the yard, and captured them in the building,” Allen replied. He gestured with one arm and added, “Lance would like to speak with you. They are currently inspecting the security beasts.”

Matt arched a brow, and hesitantly said, “Er, he’s not shooting them, is he? They’re pretty dangerous, after all, and look a lot like something we’d normally kill for loot.”

Natalie cocked her head and asked, “What are they?”

“Drakes, and they’ve taken a liking to Anna,” Allen replied. He chuckled at Natalie’s expression and added, “I do believe the initial rush may have given Lance a few gray hairs, but the drakes are highly intelligent, and know who they can trust.”

The three had been walking down the hall as they talked. Allen led them down a set of stairs to a basement. Growls and voices could be heard from ahead, and they came out on a balcony to see Anna sitting nestled in the curled form of what looked like a small, wingless dragon. The ranger was scratching the drake’s scaly chin, and cooing about it being a good guard beast. Lance stood not far away, pretending to ignore the nudges of a different drake only to occasionally rub its nose.  Four more drakes were curled up not far away, fast asleep. The gunner glanced around and smiled up at Matt and Natalie.

“I didn’t realize you kept drakes as pets,” Lance called up.

Matt smiled and called back, “Can you think of anything better?”

Natalie watched the drakes with wide, admiring eyes. “They’re beautiful,” she breathed.

And indeed, the beasts were beautiful, in a savage sort of way. They were slightly larger than horses with hard scales of gleaming red, green, brown, blue, and gold. They had muscular limbs that ended in viciously clawed feet. Their bodies were lizard-like with a ridge running from their heads to their tail tips. Their heads matched their bodies, with white fangs, and gleaming green eyes with slit pupils. They had a second set of clear eyelids that shut vertically behind the tougher scaled ones, and they moved with a lean grace that belied their strength and speed.

“I love them,” Anna commented, giggling as the one she was petting licked her cheek with a forked tongue.

Lance rolled his eyes and asked Matt, “You heard about Lillian and Samuel?”

“I heard you guys caught them,” Matt agreed. He stepped into the pen with Natalie close at his side, and patted the red drake that came over to greet him with a hissing whine, “Yeah, hello to you, too, I missed you, as well.”

Natalie nervously met the drake’s eyes as it turned to inspect her. She hesitantly raised a hand to pet the creature when it nudged her arm, and smiled as it rumbled as though purring. “You’re a good fella, huh?” she asked. The beast was very warm to the touch, and its scales were tough and smooth. Natalie kept petting the drake and asked Lance, “Did you find out what Lillian and Samuel wanted?”

“Er, no, we… kind of knocked them out,” Lance admitted.

Anna chuckled, “To be fair, we thought they were with Origin. At least until Lillian started being Lillian.”

“Eh, I’m sure she deserved to be knocked out,” Matt said dismissively. He made a face as he added, “And I’m sure they were here to try and get me to marry Lillian again.”

Allen coughed to get their attention, and mildly stated, “I received word shortly before meeting you that the notary will be here tomorrow morning to officiate the annulment. As for now, however, I must go inform Grace that you will be having supper.”

Matt waved him off, “Thanks a bunch, Allen.” He waited until the butler was gone before turning back to Lance, “So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“A couple things. First off, I want to know how you can keep idiots like the two in holding off your lawn. Obviously, they can get past the drakes, and probably because the drakes are trained to let them past. Second, we need to talk about how we’re going to get back to Origin’s fortress,” Lance said seriously.

Matt shrugged, “It’ll be easy enough to retrain the drakes to recognize Samuel and Lillian as trespassers; really, just a little bit of their blood, and some instruction is all it takes. As for getting back, I suppose we’ll have to walk.”

“At least Markus won’t be an issue this time,” Natalie sighed.

Anna nodded, “Definitely not. Still, I don’t particularly relish heading through the mountains again to get back. I would like to see how Sarah is doing, though.”

Matt tilted his head, studying the drakes, “How would you all like to ride?”

The others stared at him before following his eyes to the drakes.

“Are they ridable?” Anna doubtfully asked.

Matt nodded, "I wouldn’t have suggested it if they weren’t—I used to ride them all the time. We have tack specifically for them, too. They’re faster than horses and better on rough terrain. The only potential issue is that they can be hard to control, but they like you, so I don’t think that will be a problem. And of course, we’ll all probably be sore by the time we get there.”

Lance chewed his lower lip thoughtfully before asking, “How would we get them back here, though?”

“They’d find their own way back. Drakes can always find their way back to their hatching grounds. The real problem will be getting them to leave me behind. They’re protective like that,” Matt shrugged. He smiled as the drake he was petting nudged its head under his arm.

Natalie nodded, “Then let’s ride them back. The sooner this entire mess is finally over, the better. We can stop by village to check on Sarah, and spend the night at the mountain temple.”

“Getting from there to the fortress will take less than half a day on drake back,” Matt commented.

“Assuming we don’t run into problems,” Anna muttered.

“Assuming we don’t run into problems,” Matt agreed.

Lance snorted, “Best plan for two weeks from now, then.”

Matt gave the drake a final pat, and stretched, “Well, we can’t leave until tomorrow, so let’s spend our remaining time relaxing. Well, after I go talk with Samuel and Lillian. Where’d Allen put them?”

“He’s got them locked in a guest room on the second floor with a couple burly guys watching inside and outside the door,” Anna replied.

“I’ll go get that out of the way, then. See you guys at dinner,” Matt sighed.

**OOOOOO**

“How could you sleep with _her_?” Lillian hissed at Matt.

“Well, I actually love her, for one thing.”

“Disgraceful,” Samuel muttered.

Matt’s eyes glinted with a hard light and he flatly said, “No, what’s disgraceful is the two of you trespassing in my house to steal important documents, disobeying my orders to stay away, and then proceeding to insult myself and my guests. I’m well within my rights to have you hanged. I specifically told Samuel to never come back under threat of death.”

Lillian’s eyes widened, “No, don’t!”

Samuel dropped to his knees, and pleaded, “Please, mercy.”

Matt snorted, “I’ll give you one last chance to leave. Me. Alone. A notary is coming tomorrow to officiate the annulment of Lillian’s and my engagement. I’ll be asking him to deliver a copy of the document to your father, Lillian, and will be releasing you from my house. If I hear one whisper of either of you plotting to have myself, my estate, my friends, or my staff harmed in anyway, then I will show you no mercy as I hunt you to the ends of the earth. Samuel, you will be keeping Lillian in line. You’re expendable to the world, so you can be _sure_ I’ll be coming for you first. Am I understood?”

“Yes, sir,” Samuel whispered.

Matt turned sharp eyes on Lillian, “And you?”

The lady’s face was pale with fear at Matt’s cold words and expression. She swallowed a few times before whispering, “I understand.”

Matt nodded and turned for the door, “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll ask Allen to send some food up for each of you. Goodnight.”

The swordsman stepped out into the hall, and shut the door, locking it behind him. He handed the key to Allen, who waited outside, and sighed. The butler smiled at the distasteful expression Matt’s face, and bowed.

“Very well handled, Matt,” Allen chuckled.

Matt shrugged, “Yeah, well, it’s not like I never learned how the nobles’ ways work. Could you see to getting some food and water up here for them, and something for the guards to eat, too? Nothing breakable or requiring a knife. I doubt they’ll try anything, but it can’t hurt to be safe.”

“Right away,” Allen promised. He bowed once more, and added, “Enjoy your dinner.”

Matt grinned and called over his shoulder as he walked off, “Can anyone _not_ enjoy Grace’s cooking?” His grin widened at Allen’s laugh.

The swordsman trekked down the various halls, and slipped into the dining room. His friends looked up and waved greetings from the table, having already started eating. Matt pecked a kiss to the top of Natalie’s head as he passed to sit on her other side, and settled down to pile food high on his plate. He listened to his friends chatter, and smiled, thinking how great it was to have them there.


	28. Chapter 28

The air was chilly and frost covered the grass even though it was after noon. The weather had taken a sudden turn for the cold, and they each knew it meant the seal on the Primordial was nearly undone. Their breath formed white clouds that curled in the air before being swept away by a chilly wind. The small gathering of people in front of the mansion were bundled up in warm clothes. Matt and Natalie each had new sets of fur armor to replace the ones that had been destroyed during their journey. On top of the warm armors, each person had new cloaks made of thick, warm fabric, given to them by Allen, who'd had a few of the maids make them the night before.

Four drakes stood before the team, tacked up with harnesses holding saddles with high backs on them. The stirrups hung halfway down a drake's side, meaning the rider's knees would be fairly bent. The halters were braided leather and metal bits. The reins were chains with leather binding where their hands would hold. Each of the drakes stood calmly, waiting for their riders to mount and give the signal to go. The only sign of any excitement on their part was the occasional tail flick or a sharp snort. Matt was speaking with Allen off to one side.

"We may send the drakes back alone, so don't be shocked if they show up without us," the swordsman told his butler.

Allen arched a brow, but nodded, "Understood. Are you sure your friends will be able to control them? You know how they get when they want to run."

Matt hesitated before nodding, "Yes, I think they'll be fine. And I can always come up alongside to catch them if it comes to that."

"Of course," Allen agreed. He hesitated before holding his hand out, "Safe journey to you, Matt. I wish you and your friends the best of luck. Do come back, if only to visit. After all, you should no longer have any unsavory problems to deal with anymore with Lillian taken care of."

Matt grasped the proffered hand and shook it firmly, "We will, I promise. I trust you can keep the house running and the workers happy. I left a warrant in the office that leaves you in charge of my fortune while I'm away or incapacitated, so spend it however you see fit. If you think you need more helpers, hire them, if you all want to throw a party, go ahead; just be sure to clean up."

Allen cracked a half-smile, "While I doubt we'll throw any unwarranted celebrations with your gold, we will plan for a feast upon your return. Send word ahead so we have time to properly prepare." The butler shifted his gaze to the other three waiting patiently behind Matt, "Best of fortune in this coming fight. I know you will succeed, no matter the odds."

"Well, we'll certainly try," Natalie agreed with a smile.

A gesture from Matt had the team mounting. They'd had a crash course in riding the drakes over dinner the night before, and a brief practice in the yard that morning. Matt and Allen had carefully selected the most laid back of the drakes, picking ones that were older and more mellow, but still young enough to have speed and stamina. They were about to nudged the drakes forwards when a call came from behind them.

Matt twisted to look back and saw Grace hurrying out with a basket over one arm. The cook held it up to him with a wide, warm smile, "For your dinner. I packed it tight and there is a pie for you and Anna's sister to share. Now you be sure to come back to visit as soon as you're done, and do try to be careful! Oh, and I heard about your mushrooms, so none of that, and don't forget to wash the dishes when you're done with them, and-"

Matt cut her off with a laugh, and swung down to lash the basket behind his saddle. He gave Grace a warm hug and promised, "I'll try to be responsible, Grace. Thanks for everything, and take care." He pulled back with a cheeky grin and added, "And I'll certainly be back, if only for the pie."

The swordsman clambered back up as the woman laughed and with a final wave, he nudged his drake's sides. The beast shot forwards and was swiftly followed by the other three. Matt easily settled into the still-familiar stride of his mount. The cold wind stung his cheeks and blew his hair back as it rushed past, but didn't penetrate the thick cloak and armor he wore, and he wore warm gloves to protect his hands. The drake didn't seem to even notice the cold air, but the swordsman knew that was because it had a very high body temperature, which radiated out to help keep him warm.

Matt glanced back to see how his friends were holding up, and was relieved to see they were doing fine. They looked a little stunned at the speed of their mounts, but they weren't panicking or slipping, though Natalie's jaw was clenched. The swordsman turned his eyes forwards again, and saw that they were rapidly approaching the blackened land surrounding Akron's sealing site. The ground was still black and melted, but there were plants sprouting here and there that had taken root in the years since the god's defeat. None of the monsters they passed attacked them—several even fled at the drakes' approach.

Matt began pulling back on his drake's reins as they approached the teleportation crystal. His beast tossed its head, but slowed all the same; Lance had similar ease slowing his drake, as did Anna. Natalie, however, couldn't get hers to slow down despite her hauling back on the drake's reins. Matt shouted for Lance and Anna to keep slowing down, and urged his drake to sprint again. He pulled up beside Natalie's drake and seized one end of the reins.

The swordsman hauled to the side with gritted teeth, directing his own mount as well as Natalie's to take an increasingly sharp turn. The mage had shifted her grip to the saddle as Matt led their drakes in a tight circle until they both stopped, hissing and grumbling excitedly. Lance and Anna rode up beside them with concerned looks just as Matt began rubbing the snout of Natalie's mount.

"Everything okay?" Lance asked.

Natalie nodded with a tense smile, "Yeah. I think I'm just not strong enough to get them to slow down, is all. Thanks, Matt."

Matt shrugged with a shake of his head, "It'll get easier now that they've had a brief run. They were excited to be out again. If it keeps being a problem, then I can lead yours, though." He turned his eyes to the crystal that wasn't far away and asked, "So, think it'll shock us or let us through again?"

Lance's mouth tightened into a thin line as he studied the gleaming stone. Finally, he shrugged and replied, "Only one way to find out, I guess. We could always ride there, though. The drakes shaved an entire afternoon of walking down to barely a half hour. It would only take a few days to reach the mountains at their speed."

Matt was already shaking his head before Lance finished speaking. "I don't think that's a good plan. The drakes have awesome stamina, but even they can't maintain that run for days on end. Besides, the weather is getting colder, even here, and I bet that means there's a huge blizzard in the tundra."

Anna swung down from her saddle with a determined expression and led her drake over to the stone. "Then I guess we'll just have to try teleporting. Natz, cover me and the drake while we try this."

Natalie reached for her Shooting star staff and held it at the ready as Anna reached out to touch the crystal. But the ranger vanished with no lightning bolts attempting to fry her. Lance nudged his drake forwards to right up next to the crystal and touched it, and he vanished as well. Natalie exchanged a grin with Matt as she walked her own mount up and teleported, followed closely by Matt.

There was already a stunned crowd gathering when they were all on the other end of the teleport. Snow covered the ground of Village, and everyone in the small crowd wore thick cloaks and coats. Anna was still on foot, firmly holding onto the reins of her drake just below the beasts chin. The ranger was assuring the towns people that the drakes were under control, but warned them not to get too close, just in case. As if to emphasize her point, her mount nudged her shoulder, and gave a purr-like grumble when she scratched its chin.

"Well, well, that's a flashy horse," Sarah said as she stepped out of the crowd.

Anna's face split into a broad smile, and she held her free arm out to welcome her sister with a tight hug. A small knot of worry that had been in her chest unwound at seeing her sister safe once more. The drake greeted the younger woman with a lick and jerked on Anna's arm as it demanded petting from the new arrival. Sarah chuckled as she understood and scratched the beast's nose.

"Did you find the staff?" Sarah asked, looking up at the other three.

Natalie grinned as she held up the gleaming golden weapon. "It was a trying fight, but we got it!"

" _Trying_ is a bit of an understatement," Lance grunted. He nodded to Sarah and added, "You're looking well. Has everything been okay around here?"

John was the one who answered from the edge of the gathering of people. Lance noted with approval that the young man had his sword at his waist with one hand loosely resting on the hilt while his eyes scanned the area every little while.

"We caught, interrogated, and killed a scout two days ago, but there haven't been any attacks or assassination attempts since they tried escaping," John reported. He gave a fierce smile before adding, "We were told Sarah was only being monitored because they're short on men."

"Well, at least their story hasn't changed," Matt murmured. He rubbed a placating hand over his drake's shoulder as it shifted impatiently. "Come on, let's tie these guys to a tree and eat that food Grace sent with us."

"What do we feed them?" Natalie asked as she carefully guided her mount to follow Matt through the parting crowd to the edge of the village. Anna followed behind her, still on foot, and speaking with Sarah in a low voice while Lance brought up the rear.

"I had Allen feed them last night, so they'll be fine for a few days. Still, better not lead any livestock past them," Matt assured with a quick grin.

"That's an impressive length of time for a creature to go without eating," Sarah commented with raised brows. "Speaking of, where did you even _find_ them?"

Lance chuckled and replied, "Turns out that we've got a loaded teammate. Matt actually owns these guys, and several more aside."

"Huh. What for?" John asked curiously. He reached out a hesitant hand at Anna's gesture and stroked the shoulder of one of the drakes.

"Security, and riding," Matt replied with a shrug as he swung down to tied his drake to a tree with a ling chain he drew from his Adventure Pouch. "They were my parent's originally, but I inherited them. My chef sent some delicious food with us to share, if you and Sarah are interested."

"Huh, I would never have taken _you_ for someone who has enough money to need expensive and exotic security, and a personal chef," Sarah commented with a grin up at Matt. She shot a teasing look at John and added, "It almost makes me wish I'd tried harder to get with him."

John's jaw dropped at that, missing the teasing look. Before he could voice his upset, however, Sarah burst out in laughter and leaned over to kiss his cheek. The young man flushed as he saw the others grinning at him, and he realized he was just being teased. He crossed his arms with frown at Sarah, though the expression soon softened as she wormed one of her arms though his.

"I'm just kidding, John, don't worry," Sarah assured with laughter in her voice. She smiled up at him as she added, "I'm not so shallow as to date someone for money, anyway. Besides, can you imagine anyone else getting me to learn to use a weapon?"

John snickered at that last one. "No," he admitted, "Getting you to train with a bow was like pulling teeth from a child."

"I'm impressed you got her to learn at all; I'd tried for years," Anna sighed. She gave her drake one last rub on the nose before turning to her friends. "So, shall we go eat?"

**OOOOOO**

Later that evening, Matt slipped out of Ralph's house with Natalie at his side. They headed to where the drakes were tied to be sure they were okay for the night. Every breath billowed in front of them, and snow fell from the sky in a light flurry and crunched underfoot. Natalie had her hand in Matt's and looked up at him with a soft smile. Little flakes caught in her hair and Matt reached up with his free hand to brush a lock off her cheek before leaning down to give her a sweet kiss causing her smile to widen.

"So, are you sure the drakes will be okay overnight in the snow?" Natalie asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

Matt nodded as he straightened up, "Yeah, definitely. They have really high body temperatures, and they'll make a pile if it gets too chilly. They'll probably enjoy some snow, actually. We don't normally get it around my house."

And sure enough, the drakes were perfectly content around the tree they were tied to. They stuck out their long tongues to catch flakes, and the ones that landed on their bodies swiftly melted. They nudged their noses through the gathered white on the ground, forming little piles that soon caused them to sneeze, blowing the pile apart. Natalie giggled as they looked confused, wondering where the piles had gone. Matt stepped forwards to pet the drakes and check the chains holding them. He spoke softly to them as he worked with a fond smile on his face.

"Yeah, you guys'll be just fine, won't you?" One of the drakes nudged him with a soft hiss, and Matt scratched one of its scaly eye ridges. "Yeah, I'll be fine, too. We'll be moving early so don't stay up playing with snow all night, okay? We'll see about letting you do some hunting in the mountains tomorrow. And if any cloaked guys come up, feel free to eat them."

Satisfied that they were okay, Matt stepped back. The drakes went back to scraping snow around with content grumbles. Natalie slipped her hand back into Matt's and they headed back for Ralph's house. Inside, Lance and Anna were sitting together on a low sofa in front of the fire with mugs of warmed cider in hand. NoLegs was curled on a rug before the fireplace, contently dozing. They glanced around at their friend's entrance and grinned greetings as they scooted over to make room.

"So, are the drakes okay?" Anna asked.

Natalie nodded, "Yup, happy and playing in the snow like a bunch of little kids. It's hard to believe they're vicious guard beasts; I haven't seen even one instance of anything vicious."

"Oh they're plenty vicious," Matt assured seriously. "They might be nice and very intelligent, but they're still all but wild beasts at heart. I kind of pity any idiot stupid enough to attack them."

"So we're agreed that Origin is probably hanging around?" Lance sighed as he leaned back into the cushions.

Matt shrugged and glanced around to nod thanks to Sarah who'd come in to give him and Natalie mugs of warm drinks. "Well, it doesn't make much sense for them to quit watching us. We're the biggest threat to their leader's plans, and he'll want to be ready to deal with us. To that end, they'll want to slow us down by killing our mounts, right?" the swordsman reasoned mildly.

Sarah sat down across from them and said, "It's been bugging me for a while, but why didn't you guys just go the head of Origin first? Why waste time gathering the weapons when you could prevent the Primordial from ever being released?"

There was silence for a few moments before Anna murmured, "You'd understand if you'd face it down. I've seen it twice already, and some part of me knows I'll see it again before this is all done. I'd rather be ready for that eventuality than be stuck unprepared. And it will kill us if we aren't prepared, I don't have any doubt about that."

Sarah frowned, obviously not seeing what her sister meant. After all, Anna had admitted to seeing it twice, and she was still alive. And Sarah asked as much. "But you've fought it twice already and it hasn't killed you."

"Anna never fought it, not for real," Lance said quietly. He slowly shook his head when Sarah cast him a curious look and explained, "She played bait twice: once for the villagers, and once for us. We're not talking about some kind of large beast, but a primeval god that is stronger than our own goddess. The Primordial is massive, Sarah, bigger than Mighty Oak by over five times. It breathes multiple kinds of elemental breath and is poisonous. On top of all that, it's all but immune to magic; only the purest of magic and the strongest of hits can hurt it."

"Even with the weapons, we may still lose," Matt added softly. "It's been being fed sacrifices, and it has the Jewels that were supposed to be holding it prisoner. We've been inadvertently picking away at Origin by killing them as they attack us, saving Natalie set the Grandmaster's plans back, and we killed Markus, their top strategist."

Sarah's frown only deepened. "Then why try? If you think you're still going to lose, why risk yourselves trying? I… I don't want to be the only Greenwood survivor."

"Who can possibly begin to stand a chance aside from us?" Natalie asked in a level, serious voice. She spread her hands to indicate herself and the rest of the team, and held Sarah's eyes. "We're the best of our time: we have the experience, the knowledge, the weapons, and the skills. Even if we did hide, the world still will end, and no one will survive. Just take the snow outside: everything will be covered in ice, and that's only assuming the Primordial doesn't decide to merely stop the rain, or flood everything, or have tornados everywhere."

Anna nodded, "We aren't going to lie down or hide, Sarah. We're going to fight, and we plan to win. We've done everything possible to stack the odds in our favor. We're each stronger now than we were—physically, magically, and emotionally. We've all suffered, and it's hardened us, given us a drive and purpose." Her voice fell some as she finished, "I… I can't promise I'll make it back to you, but I can promise to do my very best to survive. We all will."

Sarah blew out a long, heavy sigh and nodded. "I guess that's the best anyone can promise. Well, rest up tonight. Gods know you'll need it." She stood up and held her arms out for a hug that Anna sprang up to give. "And don't worry about me; I'll be careful and safe, I promise. Just come back to me, Anna—all of you, actually," Sarah breathed with her eyes closed.

And with that, the younger sister gave Anna a tight squeeze before slipping off. Anna stared after her for a long moment before heaving a sigh and moving back to sit beside Lance again. She gratefully sank into the one-armed hug he offered and leaned her head to rest against his chest.

"Why didn't you tell her about our plan to summon Godcat?" Natalie asked quietly.

"A few reasons," Anna sighed. "One: Godcat has a bit of an infamous reputation in Greenwood, and I didn't want to worry her further. Two: I'm hoping we won't need to summon Her at all, so there'd be no point mentioning Her to Sarah. And three: I want to sleep tonight, and explaining how we came to the idea of summoning Godcat would lead to endless questions. Don't let her occasionally lazy appearance and ditzy attitude fool you; Sarah absolutely adores history, and would pick our brains for the rest of the night if she knew we know the location of forgotten inscriptions."

Lance snorted out a laugh, "Thanks for saving us from that, then. You ready to head to bed?"

Anna nodded with a smile and stood up beside him. "Night Matt, Natz. See you bright and early."

Matt gave a wry smile, "Yup, bright and early: My least favorite time."

"Good night, guys; sleep well," Natalie added with a smile.

**OOOOOO**

It was midafternoon the next day, and the team was speeding through the tunnels beneath the mountain range. Lance had suggested them as a way to cover ground more quickly and safely. He'd reasoned that Origin wouldn't know them, and that a lot of the passes in the mountains would be packed with snow. As such, NoLegs rode with Matt at the lead, directing the swordsman down the correct paths. Natalie illuminated the way with a hovering orb of light as their crystals did not provide enough light for such high speeds.

They burst out into daylight on the far side of the mountain range, and NoLegs promptly vanished to return to watching over Sarah. Origin had, indeed, tried to kill the drakes overnight—though the attacker had ended up entirely dismembered and devoured with only a few bones and blood splatters to show they'd ever been—and they didn't want to risk Sarah any further than necessary.

"So do we head straight for Origin's fortress?" Matt called over his shoulder in a shout to be heard over the wind whipping past.

"Yeah, let's see if we can deal with them without having to involve Beth and Sam; I don't want to endanger them," Anna called back.

"Besides, the fortress is closer than Whitefall," Natalie added. Her face was tight with nerves at having to go back to a place filled with awful memories, but her eyes glinted with determination. She would not let the man who'd abused her control her in any way.

"Think the drakes can get us over the walls?" Lance asked Matt. He was thinking back to some of the incredibly steep inclines their mounts had gone up over the course of their journey. Their claws dug into stone with ease, and their riders had no problems staying on thanks the high backs to the saddles.

Matt was silent for a few moments as he considered that. Finally he replied, "They can get us over, but we'll be exposed if they decide to rain arrows and spells down on us."

"Nothing my barrier magic can't handle," Natalie said confidently. She gave a fierce grin and added, "Actually, why go over when we can just blast the wall down?"

"Because that could compromise the structural support and cause a collapse on our heads," Lance replied immediately. He smirked over at Natalie and added, "But it'll make a satisfying _plan B_ if we need one. I can't wait to see what kind of damage you can do with that staff."

"Me neither," Natalie said with anticipation. She glanced back at Anna, who was remaining mostly quiet. "How's the healing practice going?" Anna, Matt, and Lance had been taking turns during the ride to practice their individual healing skills.

"Pretty well, I barely have to think about what I'm doing to heal myself. Which is nice, because I'd probably be staggering like an old woman after I dismount, otherwise," Anna replied with a wry smile as.

"Good to hear, but you guys should conserve your mana now; we're getting close," the mage said.

And indeed, the snowy hills they'd camped in after rescuing Natalie had given way to bare trees. The drakes had slowed both to navigate the woods and to regain their breath. Each beast had been running nearly non-stop the whole day. Still, the pace was far faster than if the team had been walking, and it wasn't long before they spied the mountain that towered over Origin's fortress. Matt pulled his drake up, prompting the others to slow as well.

"What's up?" Lance asked.

Matt shook his head as he slid off his mount's back. "Just thinking we should take a breather. The drakes are pretty tired, and they'll be valuable allies when we fight. We should eat now while we can, too."

As if on cue, Natalie's stomach growled and was echoed by Anna. The two women exchanged grins as they slid off their own mounts backs. Lance followed last and, at Matt's behest, they looped their reins over the drake's necks and turned them loose. The swordsman gave a few firm orders to go hunt, but to be back before long and to stay away from the mountain. And then the four drakes darted off.

"You sure they'll come back?" Natalie asked with a frown.

"Well, I didn't tell them to go home, so they'll be back, if only to see me," Matt said easily as he brushed the snow off a tree root to sit on. He stretched his sore legs out carefully and cast Natalie a thankful smile when she cast a healing spell on him to alleviate the soreness. His regeneration spell was stronger, but he still hadn't been able to cast an instant healing spell.

Lance was fishing out the sandwiches John, Sarah, and Ralph had given them for their lunch and passed them around. The four friends ate in silence. Despite their seemingly laid back behavior and conversation, each one of them was incredibly nervous. Though they were confident in their abilities and each other, it was still a difficult foe they would potentially soon be facing, and the chances of serious injuries, or even death, were very high. But none of them voiced their fears; they knew the others were thinking the same things, and it wouldn't help to scare themselves now.

Finally, however, the drakes ambled back in with content expressions and blood-flecked lips. Matt made a face as they tried to rub their faces up against him, and he pushed them away. The four humans rose and faced each other. They held one anothers' gazes in silence for a long moment.

"Well, I guess we should go," Matt finally said.

"Yeah. It goes without saying to be careful and keep an eye out for one another," Lance said.

"When do we try to summon Godcat? Now?" Natalie asked, glancing at Anna.

The ranger shook her head. "Not unless we absolutely have to, meaning not unless the primordial is released. If she doesn't show up, then we'll just have to show the damn god how we deal with the divine."

"Swords, arrows, bullets, and spells," Matt said with a fierce grin. He leaned over to press a kiss to Natalie's lips before pulling away to swing up onto his drake.

Lance did the same with Anna, and then all four were mounted and off. They soon burst out into the open in front of the massive stone building with their weapons ready. But no one sounded the alarm. There were no men manning the walls, and no signs of fortifications having been set up. They were unchallenged all the way to the gate, which was shut, and had frozen to the ground. The four exchanged confused glances while the drakes shifted restlessly.

"Chances that we've done enough on their numbers that they don't use the front door anymore?" Matt wondered aloud.

Lance grunted as he peered down at the thick layer of ice sealing the gate shut. "It's possible, but that doesn't explain the lack of a watch of any kind."

"A trap?" Anna suggested.

Natalie shook her head, staring intently at the massive wood door beyond the barred gate. "No, there's no one inside; or at least, no one with significant enough of mana to be sensed. I think the place is abandoned."

"Man, and I was all ready to hand them their asses," Matt muttered.

"But where did they go?" Lance asked aloud with a frown, though he knew the others would have no clue.

Anna frowned worriedly, "Maybe they found the seal; that's the only reason I can think of to give up such a fortifiable location. Let's go find Shawn in the crystal caverns and ask if Beth or Sam have left any info."

The others' expressions became grim at the possibility that the Primordial's seal had been found. They wheeled their drakes as one, and set off once more, this time headed for Whitefall, and, by extension, the Crystal Caverns.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I forgot to add this here, too. Oops. ^_^;

It didn't take the team long to reach Whitefall Town from the abandoned fortress—barely half a day. The drakes plowed through the deep snow with happy snuffles, occasionally diving into a drift to scatter it, much to their riders' dismay. By the time they pulled their mounts to a stop on the outskirts of the snowy town, their fur armor and cloaks were weighted down with freezing slush and ice. The team slipped down from their mounts and looked around, gripping the chain leads tightly in hand.

"It's awfully quiet," Anna finally noted.

The others nodded. The town looked and sounded abandoned. There were no people loitering in the streets or children playing in the snow. The few snowmen still standing alongside buildings and benches were partially snowed in and many had fallen apart. Wind whistled between buildings, and carried no noise of chatter. In fact, the only sign of the town actually being inhabited was the fact that smoke curled from multiple chimneys.

"Maybe because it's so cold out," Lance suggested after a few minutes. "It can't be any warmer than ten below, right now."

Matt shrugged and stepped forwards, leading his drake. He sank up to his thigh in a hidden pocket and shuddered as some snow got into the leg of his armor. "That, or the snow is just too deep," he muttered. He jerked his head to signal at the inn, and held his lead out for Lance to take. "I'll go in there and see if I can figure out where Beth and Sam are."

"Shouldn't we travel in pairs?" Natalie asked with a concerned frown. "Now would be a really bad time to get split up and injured or killed."

Matt hesitated before gesturing at the drakes. "I don't think you or Anna can hold onto two drakes at once by yourself, and there's nothing to tie them to. And I somehow doubt the town would appreciate them running around alone," he explained. "If I'm not out in five minutes, then you can turn the drakes loose and come after me."

Lance nodded, "Alright, five minutes, starting now." He watched Matt trudge to the inn and shove his way inside. He glanced at Natalie, who still looked fearful, and decided maybe a little humor was in order. "Look at him, planning ahead and considering potential problems," he joked. "I think we've been a good influence on him."

Anna grinned as she shot a glance at him. "Let's be honest here: he was just getting an excuse to be inside."

Natalie cracked a faint, but still tense grin as she added, "Think he'll manage to down some beer while he's in there?"

Lance tilted his head as he pretended to think that through. Finally, he smirked and said, "I bet he could get three tankards down." As he'd hoped, Natalie was relaxing again, letting out a small laugh.

"It _has_ been awhile since he's had some beer."

Anna opened her mouth to joke that maybe they should have specified telling Matt that they weren't here to drink when the door to the inn opened and Matt came back out. The swordsman's face was grim as he made his way back through the furrow he'd left in the snow. He also had a paper wrapped package under one arm that steamed slightly in the freezing air.

"No one here has seen Shawn in weeks," Matt informed them as soon as he was beside them. He jerked his head towards the Crystal Cavern entrance and added, "On top of that, a fairly large group of cloaked people went into the caverns three days ago."

Anna's face darkened, "They must have caught wind that Sam and his cohort were spies…"

"But why would they relocate their entire fortress to deal with a couple spies?" Lance murmured with narrowed eyes. He shook his head and tugged on his drake's lead, "Come on. We'll follow them through the caverns… and check on if Shawn is okay."

"At least it'll be warmer by the crystals," Natalie sighed.

A few faces peeked out of windows at the team led their mounts through the snowy streets, but no one came out to greet them or ask questions. The guard who'd been stationed outside the Crystal Cavern's when they'd last been before rejoining with Anna was nowhere to be seen. Until Natalie's drake curled its neck and nosed into a mound of snow. The mage paused in tugging on the lead to get the creature moving when she saw a dull flash of light. Her eyebrows pulled together and she shoved drake's head aside to brush the snow away herself. Her breath caught and she jerked her hand back when she realized she was seeing a chest plate.

"Did he freeze to death?" Anna asked, peering over Natalie's shoulder at the corpse.

Natalie shook her head and gesture to a small patch of frozen blood showing from under the man's back. She refused to uncover the man's face from the snow. "No, he was murdered, for sure—probably stabbed in the back by Origin when they came through here."

Matt blew out a long sigh before gesturing to go, "We'll mention that he needs a burial when we come back, but for now, we need to go." His shoulders were stiff, and he had an anxious gleam in his eyes as he looked at the entrance. Still, he took a step forwards, only to pause when Natalie snagged his wrist. "What's up?"

"Just wanted to let you know I'm going to be fine going into the caves," Natalie murmured. She smiled at him and added more firmly, "No kidnapping, no imprisonment, and no madness are going to happen. Okay?"

Matt relaxed with a soft laugh. He leaned over to brush a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks."

Lance and Anna cast curious glances at their friends for the soft conversation, but said nothing. Then the team entered the caves and swung back up onto their drakes, thankful of the high ceiling and broad passages that allowed them to ride comfortably. It was just a few minutes before they reached the room full of the glowing crystals. The drakes let out excited sounding whines and strained against their riders' wishes, trying to get close the glowing gems. It took several sharp commands and whistles from Matt to get them all moving again, which attracted the attention of a friendly face.

"I wondered if you four would be through here again, soon."

Anna twisted around with a bright smile to see Shawn watching them from beside a different crystal. Her smile faltered some at his expression, which was set in a frown, and the way he looked far too skinny. "Hey, Shawn…" Anna hesitantly greeted. "I'm glad you're okay. We were worried a group had come by to kill you."

Shawn face darkened further, and he glanced over his shoulder. "I'm fine. My children aren't, however. Why would you allow them to do something so gods-damned _stupid_ as infiltrating an assassin cult?"

Lance frowned at the accusatory tone and the way it made Natalie violently flinch. "For your information, we had no idea Sam was infiltrating Origin, or that he'd involved Beth as a safe house until after that whole debacle. In fact, we didn't even know they were your children until Beth told us so." he replied coldly. "Furthermore, the last we heard from them, they were going to try to fall out of sight until we'd dealt with the threat."

"I can see how well that went," Shawn muttered bitterly. "And you've showed up days too late to help. And why is Origin still a threat if you're supposed to be stopping them?"

Matt cut off Lance's acerbic shot back, raising a hand and casting the gunner a warning look. He could tell that Shawn was upset, and rightfully so, and that telling him his own children were to blame—whether true or not—was not going to be helpful in calming him down. "Are either of them still alive?" Matt calmly asked.

"Yes. Both of them."

"Do they need healing?" Natalie softly asked.

Shawn's expression crumpled as he turned back to face them. "Yes, and badly," he whispered.

Anna swung down and turned her drake loose. At Matt disgruntled look, she said, "The drakes will hang out near the crystals, and need a break, anyway. Lead the way, Shawn. I'm sure Natz will do everything she can to help."

Natalie nodded firmly and was the first to follow behind Shawn as the older man wove through the crystals. They soon reached the miner's camp to see three people lying still on the ground. Natalie sucked in a sharp breath at the bloody bandages surrounding a stump on Sam's wrist where he'd clearly lost his hand. Beth's face had been badly cut—mutilated, almost—and one of her eyes was completely covered with bandages. The third man was sweating and obviously suffering from infection and fever.

"I… I can't help with Sam's hand," Natalie told Shawn in an apologetic whisper. "But I can seal the end of the limb, heal their wounds without leaving scars, and cure their friends' fever. How bad is Beth's eye?"

"The bastards missed the eyeball, thankfully, but there's a slash that goes down to the bone running right beside it. I think the group was in a rush, and, by some of the shouts, they hadn't expected to find Sam here. Otherwise, I doubt any of us would be alive."

Lance's eyes narrowed as Natalie set to work healing the injured people. "So it was chance that they found you? Did they give any indication of where they were actually headed?"

Shawn's gaze was cool as he glanced at the gunner, but he replied, "No, they didn't. Sam mentioned a buried sealing chamber beneath Greenwood, however, so perhaps they were headed there."

Anna's eyes widened, "The Primordial's seal is _underneath_ Greenwood?"

Shawn shrugged, "That name is unfamiliar to me. But Sam and Beth both spoke of a sealed demon and sacrificial offerings." His eyes drifted to where Natalie was carefully purging the infection and fever from Sam's friend, and his entire expression softened. "I'm… sorry for what you suffered through, Miss Natalie."

Natalie's shoulders tensed slightly before relaxing, and she lowered her staff as she finished her healing, her three patients now resting peacefully. "I owe Sam so much for his aid back then. Maybe he couldn't free me right then, but the fact that he cared and was looking out for me meant the world," she whispered. She turned to look at Shawn with tears in the corners of her eyes, and added even more quietly, "And I'm so sorry that this was what happened to him for helping me."

Matt stepped forwards to wrap an arm around the mage's shoulders, and he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. "It wasn't your fault, Natz. Sam made his choices independently, and he made the right ones. And whatever fucked up thing Origin does and did is _definitely_ not your fault, alright?"

Shawn nodded and added, "Matt is right. Sam was always an impulsive boy with too big of a heart. I'm proud of him for doing the right thing; I just wish it hadn't come back to haunt him in such violent way. The same is true for Beth and Kyle. Thank you for healing them."

Natalie drew in a shuddering breath and wiped away her tears as she nodded. As soon as she had herself under control, she raised her head and told Shawn, "They'll be fine, now. Just make sure they get plenty of rest for a few days."

Matt pulled out the package he'd gotten from the inn and held it out to Shawn. "Here, I got this from the inn a little while ago. It was supposed to be our lunch, but they'll need something tasty and filling while they recover; it should go well with some of that bat stew you make."

Shawn smiled slightly as he accepted the package and peeled back one corner to see a loaf of freshly baked bread, still warm from the oven. He looked up at Matt with a nod. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for my words earlier. I've been caring for them alone, and was so worried about them. But that doesn't excuse what I said. Your team can't be in two places at once, and I know you never meant for my children and their friend to get hurt. Make sure you get an extra hit in from me against Origin."

The team nodded, and they left with quiet promises to return as soon as they were able. They'd just pulled their drakes away from where the beasts were curled around a massive orange crystal when Shawn came jogging up. He went straight to Natalie and held out a small wrapped package. The mage curiously opened the gift and her eyes widened at the sight of her orange crystal pendant.

"Where…. How did you get this?" the mage breathed through a smile as she pulled the leather cord over her head.

Shawn's smile faltered slightly as he said, "I saw it being pawned off in Whitefall, and I recognized it immediately. I knew you would never have given it away, so I figured that it had been stolen from you, and I traded a larger crystal to get yours from the merchant."

Natalie threw her arms around him for a brief hug. "Thank you, Shawn," she whispered as she pulled back. She moved to swing up onto her drake and grinned down at the man and added, "Remind me when we get back to help you test the crystals' reactions to mana a little more, and tell you what we've been using them for besides lighting."

Shawn grinned, "Will do. Safe journey, you four. Good luck."

And then the four were riding away, down the dark passage towards Ashwood. The drakes seemed to have new energy from having rested by the crystals, and were soon darting through the trees at high speeds. Ashwood Forest was currently experiencing a heavy snowstorm, and the ground was packed with deep snow, and the trees coated in ice, but it didn't hinder the group's pace. Before long, they were bursting into sight in the clearing that had once been Greenwood Village. A group of twenty Origin assassins were waiting for them, weapons already drawn and ready.

Natalie scowled at the sight of them and brought her Shooting Star Staff around to blast four of them with powerful Firestorm spell. An arrow from Anna's Iron Tooth flashed past, tearing into and clean through a second man, throwing him into two more. The three went down and were promptly trampled by Matt's drake as the swordsman slashed at them with Equilibrium. His blows were a little clumsy for using only one hand with the massive weapon, but the extra reach of the blade was perfect for mounted combat, and more than strong enough to kill anyone he struck. A roar of pure mana shot from Lance's Super Snipe as he fired off a Hyper Beam, disintegrating the remaining assassins.

The brief battle left the drakes tossing their heads in excitement, and the team had suffered no injuries; they had killed all twenty assassins before even one attack could be launched against them. Their eyes soon turned to the massive fissure in the center of the clearing, the burned scar still melting any snow that touched it. None of them said anything as they guided their drakes to the hole and allowed the beasts to pick their way down the wall. A rope hung down the pit on the far side, signaling that someone had descended ahead of them.

"I can't believe the seal was under Greenwood all this time," Anna murmured over the scraping and scratching of the drakes' claws on stone, her voice echoing slightly.

"I suppose that explains why the Primordial was always more… violent… around Greenwood," Natalie quietly added. "Seals almost always have an allowance range to a certain distance around them. I wouldn't be surprised if the sealing chamber itself is massive, and the Primordial just stays in it, not actually sealed as an immaterial force."

Matt gave a strained chuckle, "Pacing around like some kind of derange zoo animal?"

"A deranged zoo animal straight from a horror story?" Anna joked.

"I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Primordial isn't a tad touched for the centuries of solitude," Lance grunted. "Of course, it may not _feel_ or _know_ anything, per say, at least, not as we'd understand. The writings seemed to describe it as a force rather than a creature, after all."

"That's a little too deep for me," Matt snorted.

The steep climb abruptly leveled out into a carved tunnel that was obviously man-made. The air was strangely warm and humid, and they took the opportunity to dismount and change into the armor they had worn to fight Godcat. Anna donned her Ninja Dress with the Dark Baubles. Matt and Lance pulled on their Golden and Dragon Armors. Natalie swiftly dressed in her Pope's dress. They remounted the drakes and set off once more, determined to end the nightmare that Origin's Grandmaster was after.

The only sounds in the tunnel were from the drakes' claws clicking on the stone. Metal supports braced the walls, a decrepit mine track was laid out on the floor, running off into the darkness, there were spot on the walls to hold lights, and the stone was too straight and smooth to be natural. The drakes rumbled as they padded down the tunnel, following the mine rails deeper, though they didn't seem threatened or afraid. Matt leaned down to one side in his saddled as they passed a pile of quarried stone, and snatched up an old pickax. The wood splintered in his grip, but he caught the head before it could fall, and peered down at it in the light given off by his crystal pendant.

"Huh, this mine must belong to my family," Matt mused aloud as he ran his thumb across a symbol printed on the ax head. Rust flaked off under his brush, but he didn't pay it any mind as he studied the simple mark of a dragon claw.

"Really? That's kinda cool," Natalie commented as Matt tossed the ax head to Lance at the gunner's request. "Think it connects to Crystal Cavern? There were mine tracks there, too."

"Nah, we—or rather, _I_ don't own the Cavern's," Matt replied as he ran his eyes over the many signs of one of his family's old mining ventures, "The carts and tracks set up there are from individual diggers and small groups. But we're close enough to there that a shaft might connect to it once or twice."

A dull clang echoed as Lance tossed the head of the pick ax away. "But why'd your family abandon this one? There's plenty of mineral, still." He gestured at an obvious vein of silver as they passed it, the streaks of the ore glittering in the light from their crystals. A couple more discarded pickaxes lay on the ground below the vein as though dropped there as their owners left in a hurry.

"Dunno," Matt shrugged, turning his eyes back ahead. "All of the mines had been abandoned by the time I ran away, and I never bothered to figure out why. This one looks like it was abandoned in rush, though, doesn't it? I can't imagine just leaving behind the rails and tools like this. And those carts up there… There're mined minerals in them. We can ask Allen about it when we get back."

And sure enough, the carts were piled high with chunks of stone rich with ore of various kinds—mostly silver, but a few gems and some gold. The drakes snuffled at the carts, and Lance's shoved one to set it rolling a little ways with an unearthly screeching sound that caused them all to cringe. There was no need to prevent the drakes from pushing anymore. They seemed to travel for forever, seeing more abandoned mining posts, tools, and carts. Nothing leapt out at them, monster or assassin, and there were no turnoffs.

"Think we killed the last of the grunts up there?" Anna finally asked to break the silence.

"Probably, unless the grandmaster has a bodyguard or two," Lance agreed. He hesitantly glanced at Natalie before asking. "What does he look like? Is he strong physically or magically?"

The mage's face tightened as did her fingers on her drake's reins. But despite her visible unease, her voice was calm as she replied, "He's about as tall as you, and a little overweight. He wore a black robe every time I… saw… him. He's got a cultured way of speaking, but isn't very patient. I doubt he's anywhere near as physically strong as you or Matt, or even Anna, but I don't know about his magical talent. I was under a syphon the entire time, so I couldn't tell that. But if he was the one who cast that syphon spell, then he's very skilled; it was a twenty-four hour effectiveness spell, and more than enough to keep my own magic sealed."

"We have to keep in mind that he has the three Jewels, too," Anna added grimly. "If he's a skilled magic user, which he probably is if he thinks he can undo the seal, then he can certainly use the Jewels to augment his own powers."

Lance made a soft humming sound, his eyes narrowed in thought. "I doubt he was the one to cast the syphon… Markus was working for him by that point, after all."

"True, but Markus joined Origin after it was already formed and plotting, so I doubt he helped at all with planning to unseal the Primordial," Matt stated from the front. He reined his drake in, causing the others to stop behind him as they came upon an atrium with a massive stone door. "Think that's the place?"

"Oh, yeah…" Natalie whispered.

The base of the stone door had been blasted off, leaving a sizeable hole for an entrance. A massive, carved relief of the Primordial was set in the door, and glared down at them from over twenty feet in the air. Several empty sconces led up to the massive door, some tipped over, while others sat as they had for centuries. A few mining equipment pieces littered the area here and there, some snapped, while others were stained with ominous dark smears. There were no corpses or skeletons, and the blood stains were very old, but, clearly, some kind of battle had happened here. The drakes were letting out uneasy whines and shifting in places, their tongues flicking out to taste the air. And there was an ominous aura filling the air, seeping out from beyond the stone door.

"This is it," Matt finally said. He turned his head to look back at his friends, his face set in its usual grin. "You guys ready to kick some ass?"

"Or get our asses kicked?" Lance muttered under his breath. Despite his words, his eyes were determined and fierce.

Anna chuckled at him and said, "You can't die in there, Lance. You'd miss having sex with me too much." Her face hardened as she turned her eyes to the door, and she looked more than ready to avenge her people. "Let's butcher ourselves a madman and his god."

Natalie decisively nodded once, "He dies today."

She glanced at the gleaming golden staff sticking up over her shoulder, and hoped it would be enough to win them the battle. But as she looked at it, she remembered their last battle against a god, and her unease rose. The others had died in that fight, and she still had no idea how she had revived them. But maybe Lance's words back at Village were the key. And so, after a few seconds of thought, she withdrew her Seraphim Staff from her adventure pouch and slung it across her back as well. The silver wings and blue crystal gleamed from over one shoulder, while golden stars glinted over the other.

"We may need it," Natalie explained quietly when the others shot her curious looks. "I don't know if it was what let me cast Genesis during our fight with Godcat, but it can't hurt to have it ready if… if I have to revive you guys again."

Matt's grin faltered for a moment at the thought, but soon widened as he summoned NoLegs. "Good plan, Natz, but hopefully one we won't need. Okay, what's the basic plan, Lance?"

"Getting the Jewels is our main priority, if he hasn't freed the Primordial already—killing him is secondary. Natz, I want you well back from any kind of marks in there. Maybe your blood can only free it on the full moon, or maybe it won't work at all since you're no longer virgin, but I don't want to take any chances. If he's already completed it when we get in there, then we'll distract the Primordial while the furball retrieves the Jewels and starts calling for Godcat. Natz, Anna, and I will be hanging back where our weapons will do the most good. Matt… you and the drakes are our front. Do what you can to the monster's legs and feet—maybe ride a drake up a leg to go for the back and necks. Watch out for the fangs and venom, and don't hold anything back, guys."

"Right," the other three chorused, NoLegs adding a meow.

Matt nudged his drake's sides, and they shot into the room beyond the door. The oppressive aura grew much stronger as they broke out into a perfectly circular chamber with a soaring roof covered in stalactites. Bleached bones of limbed cats and humans were littered all across the floor, some in splinters and others in entire skeletons still donned in tattered and rusted armor. The stone was unnaturally smooth, and looked as though it had been melted that way from an intense fire. But the team hardly took in the evidence of the ancient battle; their eyes were fixed on an impressive and terrifying display at the far end of the chamber.

Wild energy crackled in the air, and stray bolts of mana blasted the stone, sending chips and shards skidding across the floor. It flashed with dark red and purple lights that arced between the three stolen Jewels, which were levitating in the air, and flying in a circle so quickly that they were blurs of green, blue, red, and gold. A low, grinding sound was reverberating through the air, and the floor faintly trembled.

In the center of the maelstrom of power stood a man in a black robe with his hands raised over his head. A blood stained knife was clutched in his left hand, and the free hand was equally stained. At his feet lay four, dead Origin assassins; their throats had all been slit, and one had clearly tried to crawl away before bleeding out. None of the team needed to look at Natalie's pale face for confirmation that the cloaked man was the grandmaster of Origin.

Anna's eyes narrowed as she drew her drake up short, and wheeled it to face sideways. She nocked an arrow against the string of Iron Tooth, and pulled it back to a full draw. Her shoulders trembled some at the heavy weight, but she held the arrow back as she sighted her shot. She let the arrow fly, and knew the shot was good even before the arrow had struck. The machete head of the arrow slammed straight through the center of the man's back, slightly to the left of his spine, sending his staggering forwards, though not knocking him down. The shot into and through his heart should have killed him, but he didn't even turn to look back, but resumed his ritual as his blood dripped to the stone below. The energy surrounding him became even more wild and fierce as it was fed yet more lifeblood. Anna cursed, and nocked another arrow.

A little ways away, Lance had slipped down from his drake to prop Super Snipe on the ground, lying on his stomach to peer down its scope. It had been awhile since he'd done actual sniping, but his muscles smoothly fell back into the familiar motions, and he set his sights on the man's head. He was about to pull the trigger, but paused when he saw Anna's arrow strike and not kill the man.

"What the hell?" Matt asked, having seen the same thing. He and Natalie had been hanging back to leave clear shots open for their friends. "He should be face down in his own blood."

"A lich, maybe," Natalie suggested in a low, tense voice, "or he's being bound by the ritual, and can't die until it ends."

Lance clicked his tongue, and settled back down to the scope. Anna's second arrow had sheared one of the man's arms off at the shoulder—a miss from trying to hit his head. The gunner charged mana into Super Snipe. Originally, he'd been planning to blow his enemy's head off his shoulders, but if Natalie was right, and the man was a lich or being sustained for as long as the ritual lasted, then taking his head off wouldn't stop him. So instead of a mana-charged bullet, he fired a Hyper Beam. The blast roared across the chamber, throwing shadows out from all the debris scattered across the floor. It slammed into and engulfed the grandmaster, and the wild energy petered out.

The Hyper Beam slowly shrank to a narrow line before vanishing. The grandmaster was nowhere to be seen, and the Jewels had quit spiraling, though they remained in the air. Lance pushed himself to stand up, and propped his rifle against the ground. His eyes scrutinized the dust cloud and devastation left by his attack. He couldn't see anyone, but his gut told him he'd failed to kill the man.

"Where did he go?" Anna asked in a low tone. Clearly, she knew the madman was still alive.

NoLegs suddenly lunged through the air, using a burst of magic to propel himself. He slammed into Natalie's shoulder, sending her staggering sideways off her drake to hit the ground. In a flash, Matt was at her side, not questioning the cat's sudden action. His eyes fixed on a bloody dagger that had slashed past, right where the mage's neck had been, and followed the figure that nimbly leapt to the ground, dodging the snapping of two drakes. He pulled Natalie further back, and lunged at the robed figure while clicking his tongue to order the beasts back.

Equilibrium hissed through the air with a deep thrum, only to hit some kind of barrier and be held at bay as the grandmaster raised his glowing arms to sustain the magic. Matt growled and forced down against the barrier, while Natalie started a spell. In a flash of light, the barrier cracked under a Dispel, and the sword slammed into the man. A puff of smoke escaped from the sleeves and hood as the cloth crumpled under the swing and was dug into the stone with a loud, metallic grinding sound. Matt yanked his sword back out, and scanned the chamber with steely eyes. Lance and Anna had slipped back to the others to form a tight ring with their weapons at the ready. NoLegs had vanished from sight, as had the Grandmaster of Origin. The drakes had gathered in a cluster not far away, hissing and growling.

"Where did he go?" Anna muttered.

As if in answer, the man reappeared under the glowing crystals. The robe was gone, leaving him in a pair of black pants and boots, and a dark blue shirt stitched with some kind of gold thread—at least the parts not stained with blood were blue, curtesy of Anna's arrows. His dagger glinted in his hand, and his dark eyes glared at them from beneath a mop of black hair. His left arm was gone entirely, but he didn't seem to feel any pain from the wound.

"It must have been some kind of double just a second ago," Lance murmured. "He had both his arms when he attacked."

"Well, at least we can identify which one is the real one," Matt growled.

Anna let loose another arrow alongside a bolt of ice from Natalie. Both attacks were incinerated in thin air by a black fire. The Jewels had begun to pulse with light before separating in three directions behind the Grandmaster of Origin. The drakes the team had ridden in on went silent and still, watching the Jewels with rapt attention. A massive black portal opened in the space between them and an even more ominous aura filled the space. A single head emerged from the portal, and was followed by two more and a long body and massive, clawed limbs. The four could only gape for a moment as the Primordial emerged from whatever dimension it had been sealed within and stood at its full height, seeming even larger than the last time they had seen it. Three matching snouts cracked open and a fearsome screech shook the space, knocking dust and dirt from the ceiling. Spiked tails lashed behind the monstrosity, crushing stalagmites, and gouging deep scores into the floor that sizzled from the same venom that dripped from its fangs.

" _Fuck_ ," Lance swore, though the curse was lost in the sound. He felt Anna press a little closer, and could feel her trembling.

Natalie's arm had gone slack, leaving Shooting Star pointed at the ground as she gaped with wide eyes at the Primordial. Matt's face had gone white, and his knuckles were equally white around the hilt of Equilibrium. Behind the god, the Jewels dulled in color and fell to the ground, though no one took any notice of them. The Grandmaster of Origin turned and bowed to the god before vanishing in a puff of smoke as one of the heads lunged for him. Acid sizzled against the stone and steam rose up from the dissolving rock. It hissed its displeasure at losing its target, but soon turned its attention to the four humans staring at it. No eyes tracked its prey, but it didn't need eyes

Suddenly, Matt brought two fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. One of the drakes broke away from the others to come racing over. Without a word, he swung onto its back and wheeled it to face the Primordial, before kicking his mount forwards. Natalie's cry to stop was ignored as Matt bent low to the drake's neck, trusting it to get him close and not be hit. The other three drakes swarmed forwards as well, to do what they could, or, at the very least, distract the god.

Lance watched with wide eyes as Matt charged off before shaking himself out of his stupor. The swordsman was following the plan, and they needed to do the same. And so he jostled Anna's shoulder and nudged Natalie.

"Start bombarding the freak. Don't hold anything back. Remember: no magic of any kind of element."

Anna swallowed and nodded before darting off to the cave wall to climb up to a narrow ledge to gain a vantage. The Primordial was too tall to reliably hit anything from the ground. Natalie formed as powerful of a barrier as she could around her and Lance before focusing her mana on attacking. Shooting Star began to glisten with light as Super Snipe hummed with power as the pair began their assault.

Lance set his sights on one of the god's hind legs, hoping to upset the monster's balance, if not take out a limb entirely. Beside him, he could feel ripples of pure, unadulterated mana coming from Natalie. It was more than he'd ever felt from the mage at once, and he considered telling her to pace herself before deciding that she knew her own limits better than he did. Meanwhile, Matt had succeeded in getting right up next to the god and was hacking away at the dark scaled limbs. He's shorn off two claws of one limb, and two of the drakes had scrambled up the god's legs to begin biting at its neck. And though their teeth didn't puncture the thick hide, it was clearly an irritation for the Primordial, and two of the heads had changed from trying to bite Matt, to twisting and trying and bite the drakes off its back. The beasts were fast and smart, however, and doing remarkably well at avoiding being eaten.

Suddenly, one of the tails came sweeping towards the swordsman too quickly for him to dodge. Matt braced himself for a painful impact, only for the limb to be diverted into the ground by three arrows. The god shrieked in pain and frustration, a shriek that only got louder when Matt seized the opportunity to hack the tail off as high up it as he could reach. Black blood poured out and sprayed through the air as the god lashed the wounded appendage. A blast of lighting shot in the ranger's direction from one of the god's mouths, but a flash of green light appeared, and the blast was blocked by the imposing form of Mighty Oak.

Anna gaped at the steaming outline of the wooden guardian of her village. She hadn't summoned him, but he'd come to aid her, anyway. She wondered if they were still within Greenwood's protected boundaries as she murmured her thanks under her breath. She drew back one of her arrows for a Power Shot, aiming for the base of The Primordial's necks. As she waited for the opportune moment, a focused Hyper Beam shot across the room, barely missing Matt and one of the drakes to blow one of the god's legs clean off. Anna cheered as she watched the Primordial stagger before steadying itself on its three remaining limbs. Its retaliatory blast of fire and ice canceled each other out and created a cloud of steam that blocked all view of the battle.

That didn't stop Natalie from unleashing streaks of light into the steam. The Star Shower rained down over the entire field, and by the shrieks, she was hitting and harming the god. Beside her, Lance aimed a Shock Wave at the ground in front of them, hoping to blow away the steam. Just as the spell went off, however, Matt came careening out of the cloud to hit the barrier and slump down to the ground. Blood was leaking from where a broken bone had stuck through his shoulder, and from the corner of his mouth. Equilibrium was nowhere in sight as Lance reached through the barrier to drag Matt behind it for safety as he recovered. In a flash, Natalie was healing the swordsman, her eyes wide with worry, but also relief that he'd only been injured, not killed.

A ripple of power had Lance looking up to see Anna's Power Shot scream through the air and hit the Primordial in the base of its necks. Two heads fell limp as they were all but severed from the body, and the other let out a choked shriek as blood gushed from its jaws. With the steam gone, they could see that only two of the drakes could still be seen on the beast's back, still biting and clawing with a feral fury. The god's hide was pockmarked and smoking from magical burns, and was losing color.

"This has been going better than I thought it would," Matt suddenly groaned as he sat up and rolled his shoulder.

"Don't jinx it," Natalie muttered as she rubbed his back. "Did I get everything?"

"Where's your sword?" Lance asked before Matt could answer.

Matt shrugged with a guilty look. "I must've dropped it when its tail hit me. I don't think my drake made it, either."

A warning shout from Anna had them looking up to see a mysterious energy surrounding the Primordial. Before their startled and horrified eyes, the damage they'd done to the god was being rapidly regenerated. The limb Lance had shot off regrew, the marks from Natalie's Star Shower healed over into thick scars, and the claws and tail Matt had lopped off also regrew. Last but not least, the two head's Anna had taken out fell off and melted into shadows that reformed on the beast's neck, and the hole from the Power Shot sealed off with only a divot remaining to show where she'd struck. An energy wave blasted out from the god's back, sending the remaining two drakes flying into walls where they slumped to the ground, dazed, but not dead.

"We'll never win if it can do that," Natalie murmured in despair.

"Where the hell is NoLegs?" Lance demanded. "He's supposed to be summoning the queen furball!"

Matt shook his head, "I saw him by the Jewels from the corner of my eye. Godcat may just not be coming if she hasn't shown up yet."

Lance let out a string of curses under his breath before shaking his head bitterly. "Get your sword back. We'll just have to hope us and our weapons will be enough. Maybe his regeneration has a limit."

None of them pointed out how slim of a chance that was and how their endurance had very real limits. But there was no more time to talk as the Primordial began tromping towards Anna, who was unprotected aside from Mighty Oak. A few Piercing Shots struck embedded themselves in the god's heads and necks, but did nothing to dissuade it. Lance slung Super Snipe around and let loose with a hail of high-powered bullets of pure mana that his friends had never seen before. But aside from an idle lightning blast that broke on Natalie's barrier, the attack did nothing to stop the god. Matt swore loudly and lunged out from the barrier to try and locate Equilibrium while Natalie began charging another spell.

Mighty Oak, tiny before the Primordial, swung his arms out to grapple the Primordial's front legs. The guardian remained unmoving, growing roots into the stone floor to ground himself from being pushed or flung. Acid dripped onto the wood, but sizzled harmlessly as whatever magic powered the guardian protected it from harm. Vines extended from Mighty Oak's arms to begin tangling around the Primordial's legs, winding up to its necks.

Anna was scrambling down the rocks as fast as possible. An innate sense told her that Mighty Oak was only holding the Primordial off—he couldn't stop it—so she needed to get to the barrier Natalie had up while she still had a chance. A blast of heat and a crackling sound followed by the scent of smoke told her the Primordial was breathing fire on her guardian. What she didn't know was that what the god was doing was freeing one of its necks to bite at her.

" _Anna! Get down!_ " Natalie screamed.

Without questioning it, Anna threw herself to the floor. A blast of pure mana exploded over her head, close enough that her skin prickled. Anna squeezed her eyes shut and gritted her teeth as the Primordial shrieked over her head and the floor shook from it trying to stomp backwards only to be held in place by Mighty Oak. When the noise and power kept going for several long seconds, she decided to risk scrambling forwards in a low crouch.

Lance's heart was in his throat as he lost sight of Anna in the light and power of Natalie's attack just before the Primordial's jaws closed around her. The mage had snapped that the ranger was fine and to shut up so she could focus on her mana, but he wouldn't believe it until he saw Anna. Then, to his immense relief, the ranger came scrambling into view where she staggered to her feet and sprinted for the barrier slamming into his arms. Her hair had been burned raggedly short so that it fell just past her ears in uneven clumps, leaving one of the Dark Baubles to dangle by one ear, but she was unharmed. She was shaking and panting from the close call, but still pulled back to look at the Primordial.

Natalie's attack finally ended, leaving only half of the god standing. The hind legs staggered backwards, dragging the back half of the torso along the ground as the tails lashed about. Across the room, Matt had frozen with Equilibrium in his hands to gape at the damage Natalie had wrought. Lance and Anna, too, were staring at the mutilated mess, not noticing that the barrier the mage had been sustaining had flickered out or that Natalie herself had slumped to her knees with Shooting Star sparking in her grip. Mighty Oak stood unharmed, though firmly planted in the ground, and with a sooty dust covering his body.

"Holy…" Anna finally mumbled in a hoarse voice as the Primordial collapsed sideways on the ground to twitch. "Natz, that was…"

"Incredible," Lance finished in an awestruck tone.

Natalie gave a tired, half-hysterical chuckle. "Don't ask me to do it again."

At that moment, NoLegs appeared with the three Jewels in tow and a worried gleam in his eyes. Each Jewel was a dull gray in color, aside from the gold accents on them. He meowed a short sentence to Natalie with his ears drooped.

"He says they're completely drained of energy," Natalie tiredly informed Lance and Anna. "They won't work to summon Godcat."

"I don't think we'll need them," Lance commented as the Primordial remained down and out, not even twitching anymore.

Anna tentatively smiled, "That would be-" Her words cut off as she spied a new figure beside the mangled form of the Primordial. "Grandmaster's back," she warned as she lifted her bow.

Matt was already racing forwards to attack the man, following through on Anna's arrow as it slammed through the man's chest once again. He swung Equilibrium horizontally through the man's torso, cutting him into two pieces that fell to the floor. The swordsman scowled down at the unmoving chunks before turning away to head back to his friends. A low chuckle had him freezing and whipping around again.

"Thank you for weakening the Primordial for me."

Matt gaped in shock at the pieces of the Grandmaster before gripping his sword to cut his foe into even smaller chunks. A blast of mana prevented him from doing anything, however. And when Matt regained his feet only a few yards from his friends, the pieces of the Primordial were glowing an eerie green color before melding into a wobbling, spherical bubble. Lance and Anna's attempts to stop whatever was happening were merely absorbed into the sphere, and Natalie was far too drained to do much more than push herself to stand up. The bubble was steadily drawn to the Grandmaster of Origin, where it absorbed him as well before beginning to shrink. When it faded, the man was whole and upright once more and faintly glowing.

"Come on," Matt growled. "You've lost, so just _die_ already!"

The man laughed long and loud. "Lost? No, I've not lost. I've won. The Primordial and all of its power is now mine. Now you face me for real, and you will never win. I cannot tire. I am immortal. My will guides the Primordial's chaotic essence with a purpose far sharper than its former mindlessness."

Each member of the team felt a chill run through them. But before they could do anything, the man pointed at Matt's feet, and the stone beneath the swordsman erupted upwards, sending him flying through the air into Lance, knocking them both to the floor. Anna tackled Natalie aside when the man pointed at the mage, but they were shot out of the air before they'd landed by some invisible force as strong and solid as a physical blow. Anna groaned as she sat up to see Lance dazedly disentangling himself from Matt. Both men looked winded and confused, clearly having knocked heads at some point, and could hardly stand up straight.

Anna summoned her healing spell to restore their senses, but was cut off as she suddenly couldn't breathe. Her eyes widened and her hands shot to her chest as her mouth opened and shut, trying to suck in air when her lungs wouldn't cooperate; it was as if they'd been paralyzed.

Natalie scrambled upright when Anna curled over with a red face, and she began trying to heal the ranger, only to find nothing physically wrong with her—all that happened was that Natalie wasted what little mana she had left. Her eyes whipped around to the Grandmaster of Origin, knowing he'd done something to Anna. The man's eyes were glowing bright green, and were intensely fixed on the ranger. He seemed oblivious to anything else, so Natalie pointed Shooting Star at him and pulled on her nearly exhausted mana reserves. All that happened was a pathetic spark of electricity that died before leaving the staff. Anna was blue in the face by this point, and her eyes were glazing over and sliding shut, and Natalie didn't know what to do.

Then, miraculously, vines erupted from the ground around the Grandmaster. They snapped shut around his arms and legs, and rapidly wound around his head and torso. Soon, he was encased in a cocoon of vines that shrank inwards to crush him within them.

Anna sucked in a sharp breath and began coughing for air with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her face was purple from no air, but rapidly fading to red, and then closer to her normal complexion. Natalie flung her arms around the ranger, relieved that she was okay. Anna, her breathing finally mostly under control, shakily returned the hug with one arm as she shot a grateful look at Mighty Oak.

A split second later, the guardian dissolved into ash, and Anna felt her connection with him vanish. It took a few moments for what that mean to sink in, but her eyes quickly widened she sucked in a sharp breath. And even after she knew what had happened, she didn't react for several long seconds. Mighty Oak had been destroyed—completely and utterly destroyed so that no presence of him remained. And it had happened so fast. One of the last remnants of her home was gone for good.

" _No!_ " Anna shrieked as tears suddenly poured down her cheeks.

Lance shook off the remainder of his daze at her scream, and twisted to look for her in time to see her lunge at the Grandmaster with a feral-sounding snarl. He shot forwards, too, with a shout of warning that fell on deaf ears. Anna was blasted back, but twisted in mid-air to hit the ground on her feet to lunge forwards again. This time, she weaved as she charged—the motions seemingly random, but in fact instinctively driven to dodge a minute ripple of mana that heralded an invisible attack.

Lance's eyes widened as she managed to get right up next to the Grandmaster and tackled him down. Matt sucked in a sharp breath of amazement, having finally found his feet, and inwardly cheered Anna on. A flash of light flickered through the air as the ranger drew her dagger and slashed it across the Grandmaster's neck before stabbing him over and over where ever she could reach. Soon, the man's face and upper body were mangled beyond any recognition, though that did nothing to stop Anna. She was cursing him in a sobbing voice as she continued stabbing him, letting out all of the anger and pain she'd kept inside for his slaughter of her people.

Finally, however, Lance stepped forwards to pull her back. He doubted the Grandmaster was dead, and he didn't want her to get caught up in the next attack, whatever it would be. She struggled against him, sobbing about how vile the man was between unintelligible snarls of anger. Lance quietly murmured that he understood and that she was fine and needed to calm down as he pulled her away. He pressed a few butterfly kisses to her temple as soon as they were a fair way back, though he knew distance wasn't going to help them. A glance at the Grandmaster showed him reforming as the Primordial had; he grimly figure the Grandmaster basically _was_ the Primordial, now. Slowly, Anna calmed, shuddering out a few sniffles, but no longer struggling against Lance.

"We need Godcat," the ranger whispered after a moment. "She's the only one who might be able to stop him—no, stop _it_."

"Then we need the Jewels," Lance replied quietly, glancing back at the dead objects. "Maybe they can be recharged?"

Next to the Jewels, Natalie was discussing much the same with Matt and NoLegs. The cat was certain that it could be done, but they would need time since Natalie had exhausted her own mana. Then, Matt had a brilliant idea.

"Your staff—the red one with the bat wings—it drains mana. Use it on me," the swordsman suggested.

"That's genius! Okay, hold on," Natalie breathed with her eyes wide in excitement.

She pulled the staff—Demon Tail—out of her Adventure Pouch. The blood-red staff with the orb perched at its tip was one she rarely used as it was relatively weak, but its ability to drain the mana of her foes was an invaluable one—though she had hardly used it since their quest to defeat Akron. A slight push against Matt's chest syphoned the mana from his body into her own, and she let out a sigh of relief at the rejuvenating feeling.

"We'll still need more time, just not as much. You guy's will have to distract him," Natalie told Matt. She leaned over to press a kiss to his cheek and added. "We've got this, right?"

"Right," Matt agreed with a tense grin before he stood up. He glanced at NoLegs and added, "Stick with Natz, and get Godcat here as quick as you can."

"Meow!"

It took only a few seconds to pass the message on to Lance and Anna, and then the three turned to face the Grandmaster who was just plucking Anna's dagger from his chest to toss carelessly aside. Lance quietly noted that the man, or whatever the Grandmaster was now, must not have as good of a grasp on the Primordial's powers as the god had—pointing out that his regeneration was much slower. He also told them that although the monster could attack them in an instant, he could only target one of them at a time, and that that gave them a little wiggle room for join attacks.

"The weapons should still work. Matt, you might not be able to get close to him, and if you can't, then lob some Holy Swords."

"Got it."

"Anna, you're our healer for now. Matt will use his regeneration spell, but be ready for all of us, just in case," Lance went on with a glance at the ranger.

"You can count on me," Anna promised firmly.

They each readied their weapons and face the monster down. A few bullets from Lance were disintegrated from the air before connecting, as were Anna's arrows. Matt repeatedly tried to charge forwards, distracting the Grandmaster from blasting Lance and Anna off their feet. Anna cast little healing spells here and there to fix sprains, cuts, and fractures as they happened. Each of them knew they would never be able to take the monster down on their own, but they also knew they didn't have to. Not yet, anyway.

The Grandmaster seemed amused as he fended off their attacks with laughable ease. In his mind, he commended himself on successfully absorbing the Primordial, granting himself god-like status. The four heroes, no matter how strong they were, could never beat him. But scheming was in his nature, and as such, he couldn't help speaking to them, to try and turn them from their goal, even if he didn't have to.

"Such hatred for me in each of your eyes… But what if I told you the Primordial's power can resurrect the people of Greenwood?" he slyly offered.

The three battling froze, their jaws dropping, and Lance's wide eyes darted to Anna. The ranger was frozen, her face blank. Even Natalie had opened her eyes in shock from having them shut in concentration as she channeled her mana. She barely noticed NoLeg's begin arranging the Jewels to start summoning his creator.

"Well? I can bring them all back. You could see them all again, just as they were before," the Grandmaster said in a smooth voice.

Matt shot a questioning look at Natalie as she came up beside him. A slight nod from her told him she'd charged the Jewels, and he tilted his head in askance at the Grandmaster.

The mage shrugged and murmured, "He's probably right. Chaos has greater power than any magic I've ever seen. Personally, I just want to kill this guy, but it's up to Anna."

The swordsman shifted slightly. "But to bring them all back to life? There's got to be some sort of catch."

Lance shifted closer to Anna. "Well? What do you want, Anna?"

Anna remained silent. She closed her eyes for a few moments then reopened them to reveal a glitter of tears. "More than almost anything, I would love to see everyone of Greenwood alive again," she finally whispered.

The grandmaster smiled a thin, evil smile, but before he could speak, Anna slowly shook her head.

"Still, no matter how much I may wish to see them again, I never will and that is how it should be. Even if you can bring them back, even if there were no strings attached, I refuse to choose their resurrection. The people of Greenwood wouldn't want me to choose their resurrection. Life is a cycle. We're born, we live, we die, and then something new is born. There is no going backwards, no undoing the past, no return from death—no matter how much we might wish otherwise. I have made my peace with that fact, and I know that I am right. All I could truly want from you now is your death."

The grandmaster's face twisted into a snarl and he raised his hands. But before he could blast them with the stolen power of the Primordial, the dead jewels of Greenwood flashed. There was a ripple of power from each of them—power he had believed was lost. Each Jewel lifted from the ground, glowing and humming with mana. They circled in the air, and in a flash of blue, green, and red light, mana exploded outwards. The light cleared to reveal two very familiar figures hovering above them. Godcat had come after all.

The twin avatars lowered to settle on the ground, humming with energy. Behind Her, NoLegs bowed low and mewed a greeting. The Goddess' nodded to him, but turned Their eyes on the Grandmaster. The human's each started at hearing Her voices in their heads. It had been a long time since they'd last experienced telepathy.

" _I had hoped you four would have stopped this abomination before it was freed,_ " the Destruction avatar hissed.

" _But it matters not, it has been weakened considerably by binding to a mortal shell,_ " the Creation avatar smoothly went on in a merciless purr. " _And We admire that you have undertaken_ _the task of banishing it once more. We have watched your battle from afar, and We more than dub you worthy of Our aid. Behold the might of Godcat._ "

"You cannot stop me!" the Grandmaster spat. "You could not stop me those eons ago without the help of Your pathetic food, and even then, You only managed to delay me! And now I am a focused force where once I was merely a mindless beast! And I will reclaim what is mine!"

Godcat's eyes glinted in triumph and immense satisfaction. " _Such arrogance, to think you are the Primordial's equal. And foolish, to think you are stronger than Us. For one who has read the inscriptions and planned his doomed conquest so long, you have made a simple and grave mistake. It was devastating because it could shift, but you have trapped it to one form and restricted its limitless possibilities to only the simple means and that your human mind can comprehend. You could never be as great and terrible as it once was, nor could you possibly hope to keep it contained._ "

A twitch of one paw was enough for Creation Godcat to lift the Grandmaster into the air. He lashed out with his own magic, and was alarmed and confused when it did nothing to help him. Destruction Godcat floated up to in front of his face and bared Her teeth in a snarl.

" _Once, the Primordial could speak as We do. Years beyond count of imprisonment and torture had broken it. For the arrogance of trying to supplant a god, we banish you to join your vaulted god,_ " Destruction Godcat hissed. " _May you enjoy the same fate as it once did._ "

A slash of one paw ripped open a jagged portal. The Grandmaster's eyes widened with true fear as he was brought up to the portal. He could only hold the Goddess's burning crimson gaze in silent terror and disbelief.

" _For slaughtering_ _and torturing My Children, I curse you to continue to live forever._ " Creation Godcat spat with the protective fury that only a mother could display. She drifted up to, drawing the man's eyes to Her icy blue ones. " _May you enjoy your dream and conquest of life as you suffer._ "

" _Be gone!_ "

The joint words cracked across the human's minds. With a final, desperate, and defiant shriek, the rip closed around the Grandmaster, and he was gone. The avatars drifted back down to hover just above the ground before the team. For a few moments, there was silence. Then Anna bowed low.

"Thank you, Godcat."

Natalie and Matt followed suit. Lance, after a half a moment, followed suit.

" _Thank you for helping Us succeed where We had failed. We could never have accomplished this had he not summoned the Primordial, and he would never have absorbed it had you not defeated the god. Know that your battle and victory today were ones that history had never before witnessed nor ever predicted._ "

"That victory was all Natz," Matt admitted dismissively with a proud smile at the mage. "That last spell of hers was amazing."

" _True, but no human ever managed to corporally wound the Primordial, yet each of you managed as such. The artifacts that you retrieved were meant only to contain the god, not defeat it. Your strengths made victory possible. Take pride in that achievement, and know you have Our Blessing. Whatever wish that you have that is within Our Power, we will grant._ "

Lance nudged Anna forwards after a brief look of silent askance at Matt and Natalie, who both nodded. "You choose, Anna. You've been hurt the most by all of this."

Anna hesitated, glancing at the ash pile that was Mighty Oak. "I don't suppose you could…"

Creation Godcat drifted to settle on the ground, and shook Her head. " _We cannot revive the villagers of Greenwood, Anna. Death so long past is beyond even Our abilities to recover._ "

Anna nodded, "I understand, but I was actually hoping that maybe you could protect Ashwood and Greenwood in some way? Mighty Oak is… gone… now, and the forest no longer has a protector. Sarah and I can't possibly watch the whole forest by ourselves. And I don't know if I even want to after all that's happened there. I want a new life since my old one is gone."

Godcat nodded slightly, and a gentle, warm, and powerful pulse of mana rippled outwards from her. " _That, We can grant. First, We shall restore Mighty Oak to restore and maintain the forests as he always has. Second, we shall melt the frost that has taken the world with the Primordial's presence. And finally, we shall instill new guardians to protect the trees and beasts. Thank you, Anna, for the generations your people have followed Our command. We relieve you and yours of your duties, though you shall always be welcome among the trees, should you wish to return._ "

Anna bowed low. "Thank you."

Destruction Godcat landed before Natalie and waved her paws. The air between Her and the mage shimmered, and a familiar staff appeared for Natalie to take. Natalie's eyes widened in amazement an lit up with happiness as they traced the familiar redwood staff with the gleaming crystal set in the tip. And as her fingers closed around the worn grip, she felt a strange humming run through her body, and he skin briefly glowed.

" _We return your Crystal Staff. Do consider using it demolish Origin's fortress,_ " the destruction avatar hissed.

" _We also grant you the ability to revive your allies, should you find yourself in a situation to do so, even if you did not need to today,_ " the Creation avatar purred.

Natalie blinked in amazement before bowing as low as Anna had. "Thank you so much. I'll make it a blast worth watching."

The twin avatars swirled up into the air to hover over the team's heads. " _Farewell, and know that We will always be watching over you_."

And then the avatars were gone with a final pulse of magic. For several moments, the four could only stare at the space where they had been. Then Matt let out a disbelieving laugh and spun to catch Natalie up in a hug and kissed her.

"We did it!" he crowed after they separated. "We really did it!"

Anna blew out a shuddering sigh and slumped against Lance's shoulder, snuggling into his side when he wrapped that arm around her. "It's over, finally over." Tears burned in the corners of her eyes and she tilted her head back to accept a kiss when Lance touched her cheek. "Thank you for everything," she murmured against his lips.

Lance pulled back with a brilliant smile, one wider than he'd ever given before. "You're welcome." He wiggled his eyes brows and leaned down to her ear to whisper, "Now about a more physical thanks…"

"Gods above, Lance, you can wait until we're back at Matt's place," Anna playfully scolded. She twisted her head to grin over at Matt and Natalie. "Well? Shall we go gorge ourselves on yummy food?"

The other three cheered before beginning the long journey back to the surface.


	30. Chapter 30

“Oh, this is going to be good,” Matt chuckled with an expectant gleam in his eyes.

It had been a little over a week since the battle against the Primordial and the Grandmaster. Two days had been spent resting at Shawn’s campsite after telling him, Beth, Sam, and Kyle the good news. Only Shawn would be joining them at their celebration, though all four had been invited. He’d been fascinated with the drakes, and wanted to study them as well as the mining record Matt’s family kept. Beth had been eager to return home at long last with Kyle, her fiancé, though the team hadn’t known about their relationship until then. Sam had told them he would try to make it, but he wanted to visit his beloved’s grave to tell her the good news, and the site was far away from Matt’s manor. The swordsman had promised to let his staff know who Sam was in case he showed up, and that he would be more than welcome to rest there.

Now, however, the team stood in the shadow of Origin’s fortress. Lance was kneeling at the base of the wall, wiring the last of a series of explosives. Their plan was to let Natalie try to blast the entire structure apart with magic, and whatever was left would be demolished with charges. Each of them was eager to see the blast and to have the satisfaction of wiping the structure off the map. There was likely a lot of loot inside free for the taking, but even Matt hadn’t wanted to go retrieve it. Natalie had suffered in those walls, Matt had nearly died barely a mile away, and none of them wanted anything to do with any kinds of treasure the cult might have gathered.

“We’re headed to your place after this?” Natalie asked Matt as they headed a fair distance away, right at the edge of the trees.

“Yup. I sent a message this morning that we were successful and coming back for some food to celebrate. Grace should have a small feast ready by the time we get there,” Matt agreed cheerfully. He then bowed and made a sweeping gesture with one arm at the castle. “Now, then?”

Natalie’s grin was nearly evil as she turned her eyes on the stone structure. Her three friends gathered behind her, nearly buzzing with excitement as she shut her eyes to channel her mana. For a few long moments, there was silence aside from leaves rustling in the wind. Then a bright flash blinded them, even in the middle of the day followed by an earth-shaking _boom_. Natalie flung a barrier up at the same moment and squinted her watering eyes against the flash, and cheered as her spell blasted the top half of the fortress clean into the air. Stone thudded down all over, embedding into the dirt, crashing through trees, and fizzling into dust against her barrier. Thirty seconds later, and the last stones had landed, leaving the bottom half of the smoking ruins still standing, though thoroughly decimated. Natalie pouted at the sight.

“Darn, I was hoping to take the whole thing out. Your turn, Lance.”

“It’ll be my pleasure,” Lance smirked as he held up a small remote detonator. “Three, two, one…”

A single push of the button set off the dozens of charges in rapid succession. Fiery explosions set alongside key supports in the walls brought the remaining stone down in an impressive display. The team exchanged high-fives and cheers as they beamed at the smoking, burning rubble. It was the definite end of Origin. The followers of the cult were dead, their god defeated, their leader banished, never to return, and the snow that had been the result of their efforts had melted away just in time for spring to come. It was time for a new beginning.

“Well, let’s get going. We still need to pick Sarah and John up,” Matt said, turning to head for where they’d left the drakes.

Only two of the beasts had survived the battle against the Primordial, though Natalie had revived a third one. The fourth, they assumed, had been eaten or shredded as they had been unable to find it even after an extensive search. Still, three drakes would be more than enough to carry them back to Matt’s manor, even with two more riders. Soon, the team was seated back on their mounts with Natalie sitting behind Matt, her arms around his waist. The ride through the field past the forest was made in peace, and they stopped in briefly to say check in with, and say hi to Beth and Kyle before making their way into the mountains. Snow still remained on the peaks and filling some of the passes, but the tunnels underneath were still clear, and they had NoLegs to guide them. In just an hour, they were racing down the mountain side towards Village where Sarah and John were waiting at the gate to greet them.

“You made it,” Sarah breathed against Anna’s shoulder, having been tackled by the ranger straight from the saddle of the drake. “It’s really done? We’re safe now?”

“Yeah, we stopped them,” Anna replied just as quietly. She pulled back after a long minute to beam a watery smile at her sister. “Godcat says we’re no longer responsible for Ashwood and Lankyroot. Mighty Oak, the remaining idols, and some new forest spirits are watching over the trees, now.”

“That’s good. I was wondering how the hell I was going to do all that by myself,” Sarah sighed. She glanced past Anna with distant eyes as she added, “You’ll have to take me to see the graves, soon. I’d… I’d like to say my own goodbyes.”

“Of course. Lance and I can take you in a couple of days.”

“That’s alright. John and I can make the trip by ourselves just fine. I want them to meet him. Lana knew I was seeing him, but practically none of the others did, and he’d only met a few of the other villagers. Still, he wanted to pay his own respects.”

Anna glanced at John, who nodded his confirmation. Slowly, her mouth curled in a tiny smile, and even though she had her reservations about letting her sister go anywhere without being there, she knew she needed to let go. “Alright. Take care of each other when you go, and summon NoLegs if you need extra help.” Her smile faded some as she added quietly. “And tell them I'm sorry? I… I’ll go myself, eventually, but I can’t face them, yet, and I want them to know.”

Sarah frowned some in disapproval, and she clearly wanted to point out that Anna had nothing to fear or be ashamed of, but she simply nodded. “Alright, I’ll let them know. You’ll have to tell me the whole story some time. The final chapter of Greenwood should be written down, even if nothing else survived the fire.”

A few minutes passed in silence before Lance cleared his throat. “Don’t we have some top-quality food to enjoy? Let’s go!”

Matt cheered and led the way back to the drakes. Soon they had warped to near Akron’s tomb, and were speeding off for Matt’s house. Already, each of them was thinking about all the food they were going to eat, and comfortable beds to sleep in. Best of all was the sense of assured safety they felt. No more looking over their shoulders for an attack, no more worrying that a god of chaos was going to destroy the world, and no more worrying about waking up to find one of their own gone.

The smell of cooking meat and baking reached them before they’d even slipped down from their drakes on the lawn in front of Matt’s manor. Warm, late afternoon sunlight was shining down and the grass was just turning green from the returned warmth and a recent rain. A man was waiting to take care of the drakes, and he nodded a hello to Matt and told the swordsman that Allen was waiting inside with Shawn and that bathes had already been prepared. Sarah and John waved the team off, already eager to start exploring.

**OOOOOO**

“Alright, I have to love this part of the high-life,” Matt sighed in delight as he slumped down against the side of the tub with bubbles up to his chin.

Natalie chuckled at him as she ran a cloth over her arm. “Never took you for one to enjoy a bubble bath.”

“Who _doesn’t_ enjoy a bubble bath?” Matt asked in mock-confusion. He cracked one eye open to grin at Natalie and added, “Plus you’re here, so that immediately makes anything ten times better.”

Natalie’s eyes twinkled as she slid around next to him to dance her fingers up his thigh under the water. “ _Only_ ten times?” she asked in a purr, inwardly laughing as he let out a low moan.

Matt pulled Natalie in for a heated kiss before pulling back enough to say in a husky tone, “Okay, more than ten depending on the situation. Like if you’d move your hand just a little bit higher…”

Natalie’s chuckle echoed about the room alongside Matt’s moan as she followed his request. They had plenty of time until dinner, after all.

**OOOOOO**

“Mm, that gets better every time we do it,” Anna panted as she lay flopped on the bed beside Lance.

Lance gave a breathless nod in reply before rolling onto his side to wrap his arm around Anna and tug her into a tight hug and a kiss. “Too bad it’s always over so fast,” he joked when he pulled back.

“Well if you’d slow down you’d last longer,” Anna chided through a laugh. She sat up to grin down at Lance and added, “Not that I’m complaining, but one of these days, I’m going to walk out of the room with a limp.”

“A job well done, then,” Lance chuckled as he sat up to stretch. “Not this time, though. We need to be semi-coherent for dinner. Plus, I think you limping would bring endless teasing from Matt and Natalie.”

“They won’t dig their own graves deeper. I don’t believe for a second that they aren’t going at it right now, too. But I guess I should avoid the looks Sarah will give me. She’d tease me endlessly, too. Hooray for healing magic, eh?”

Lance flopped back down with a soft laugh as he watched Anna slide off the bed to get dressed in a clean outfit. His eyes ran over her slender form with contentment and love as she slipped into her Green Dress and brushed her hair, and he figured that if there was anything in the world that would make him religious, it would be her. He’d pray every day if it meant he could enjoy moments like this with her every day as well.

“ _Yeah,_ ” he thought as he finally rolled to sit up at her teasing remark that she was going to leave the door open whether he was dressed or not. He swiftly pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt not part of any armor set, though he grabbed his gunblade from where he’d left it beside the bed to buckle around his waist. “ _Life is good._ ”

They met Matt and Natalie out in the hall, both of whom had the relaxed smiles of a pair who’d just had sex, and headed down to the dining room. Sarah, John, Allen, Grace, and Shawn were waiting for them along with a spread of food ranging from spiced hams to jellied berry sauce and crisp salads. Shawn was engrossed in a conversation with Allen about the various minerals Matt’s family had mined up and in what locations their mines were at. Sarah was stealing amused, but happy glances at John, who was all but drooling over the food. Grace smacked Matt's hand away from poking his finger into the whipped cream next to an apple pie with a wooden spoon, and ushered them into seats.

“Dig in, and be sure to come back for thirds,” Grace beamed with a proud smile.

Matt had a plate full of food—of which there was only meat and bread—in barely ten seconds, and was shoving huge bites of meat in his mouth only thirty seconds after that. A half-hearted suggestion from Natalie to slow down went ignored, and she gave up with an amused sigh before buttering a roll to go with her ham while answering questions from Shawn about the crystals and how they’d been using them. Anna was cheerfully crunching her way through a plate of salad before starting on a mountain of potatoes drizzled with gravy, and she had a sizeable chunk of meat to eat as well. On her left, Sarah was stealing bits of fruit from John’s plate, despite the fact that the bowl of fruit salad was barely five inches away from her, and her response when he asked in exasperated amusement why she couldn’t get her own was to pop a grape in his mouth with a smile. On Anna's other side, Lance ate with methodical swiftness, monitoring the other occupants at the table.

A part of him was unable to completely relax, even though he knew they were entirely safe. He couldn’t shake the lingering unease of a potential attack, born of weeks of stress and fear. The others were certainly comfortable—Matt hadn’t even worn a sword to dinner, and no one else had brought their gear. Though, granted, Natalie and Anna were both wearing their crystal pendants and could focus magic through them, but was he really the only one who’d thought that it would be smart to keep a weapon close at hand? What if they were attacked?

“Is everything okay?” Anna asked quietly when she noticed Lance had quit eating.

Lance blinked a couple of times, chasing away the distant look of unease in his eyes. “Huh? Oh, yeah, everything is fine,” he promised. At Anna’s arched-brow-look-of-disbelief, he caved, though his voice was low, wary of upsetting the others. “I’m just… having a hard time letting go of… everything, you know?”

A look of comprehension dawned on Anna’s face, and she nodded. Her eyes drifted to across the table as Matt challenged John to a drinking competition that had Sarah and Natalie protesting to deaf ears. It didn’t help that Shawn wanted to join in and had persuaded Allen to participate, too. Grace politely excused herself to start on the dishes, but warned them that she wasn’t cleaning up any vomit.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Anna sighed. Her hand drifted to her right thigh and she admitted, “I wore my dagger, just in case, and I keep thinking about what I’ll do if hooded freaks jump out to attack us. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this tense outside of battle before. I’m sure it’ll all pass in just a few weeks, though, once our minds catch on to the fact that the danger is over.”

Lance relaxed slightly at optimistic words. “Yeah, good point.” He popped another bite of food in his mouth as he watched Matt fill and down his seventh glass of beer from the keg Allen had had brought up for the party. John was swaying in his seat, and Shawn had passed out. Allen was still going strong, however. “Should we stop them?”

Anna nearly choked on her water as she laughed. “You’re welcome to try. I’m kinda looking forward to what Grace will make them do once they’re sober again. I can’t imagine them not breaking something, after all.”

Even as the words left her mouth, John tried to stand up with a slurred promise of a poem about how beautiful Sarah was, only to fall over, knocking a plate off the table to shatter on the ground. Sarah hid her red face in her hands and was muttering while Grace came charging back into the room and firmly declared the drinking match over, forcibly removing the beer glasses from Allen and Matt’s tipsy hands. Natalie was apologizing on the participants’ behalf, and smacking Matt’s hand off her thigh while Sarah ordered John to bed. With a final apologetic glance at Grace, Natalie hauled Matt up to lead him back to their room, though a grin was twitching her lips as Matt began asking her if she was single. Allen called for a servant to help move Shawn to bed before tottering off, leaving just Lance, Anna, and Grace in the dining room.

“Well, that is the last time I let the boys have alcohol,” Grace muttered while stacking dirty dishes.

Anna laughed as she moved to pick up the broken plate shards. “Yeah, we probably should have told you how bad of a drunk Matt can be. I didn’t think the others would join in, though. At least Natalie didn’t join them, eh, Lance?”

“Think she’d ask Matt if _he_ was single, too?” Lance chuckled, helping stack plates. “Do you need help washing these, Grace?”

“Oh, no, don’t trouble yourselves. I’ve got a few servants in training to help with that. We’ll be polishing off the leftovers, too. In fact, why don’t you two head for bed, as well? Morning is always sooner than you think, after all!”

And so the pair bid the cook goodnight before slipping back up to their room and stripping down. Once in bed, Lance curled around Anna and breathed in a deep breath against her hair. It didn’t escape his notice that she’d slid one of her daggers under her pillow again, but he said nothing about it. They’d readjust soon enough, and it never hurt to be prepared.

“So, what are our plans now?” Anna asked in whisper as her eyes blinked in lazy contentment. “No more crazy gods to kill, after all.”

“Mm… How about that house?” Lance suggested just as quietly. “It’s safe now, after all, right?”

It took Anna a few minutes to recall what Lance was talking about. Then, she recalled their hopeful conversation back in Village after they’d defeated Markus, and her fears that they would never be able to quit running. Her lips curled in a smile and she twisted around in Lance’s grasp to toss one of her own arms over his waist.

“I’d like that—a place to call home,” Anna agreed. “Still need those teleport crystals, though. And I want something as impressive as this place.”

“A tall order,” Lance chuckled. “Maybe we should just buy Matt’s house? I bet we could get it for a discount. Assuming he’s still selling it, of course.”

“Actually, I was thinking…” Anna started before trailing off. A gentle prod from Lance had her speaking again. “That kitten stronghold in the mountains? It was still in really good shape. A little cleaning and touching up, and it would be livable. I really want to restore the garden, too.”

Lance pulled back a bit to look down at Anna in surprise. “There? It’s kinda out of the way, don’t you think? And there are practically no trees there, either. Won’t you miss that?”

“We could always grow trees,” Anna pointed out. “And I’d like a nice, secluded place to relax at, and with teleport crystals, who cares where it’s at? And it would be a really good place to keep the Jewels. Even if they’re dead now, I don’t trust the towns to look after them, anymore, and Greenwood is gone entirely. They’d be defended at the stronghold until we decide what to do with them permanently.”

“Hmm, good point. Well, I’m fine with that if that’s what you want; plenty of room to house Matt and Natz and other friends if they decide to stay over, too. And it’s as defensible as any place is ever going to get.”

Anna beamed before burying her face back into Lance’s chest. “Thanks,” she mumbled before pressing a kiss to his skin. She smiled as she felt him shiver at the contact and added, “Love you forever.”

In a flash, she was on her back with Lance was over her. She arched into his touch as he ran his fingers over her skin and met his lips for a kiss.

“Love you for longer,” he breathed against her lips.

And she knew he mean it. The tight knot that had still been tied in the pit of her stomach, sometimes forgotten but never gone, finally unwound. With a laugh of delight, she rolled them over to kiss her way down Lance’s chest. Forever and longer started now, and she planned to make the most of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be NO continuation of this plot. I’m not writing a trilogy, and I am not writing about any kids they may or may not have, so do not ask me to. You’re free to ask me to borrow elements from this plot to write your own generational stories, but I will not be doing it myself.

**Author's Note:**

> I adore reviews, so please leave me one if you read my story. Even a good job, keep it up is a nice boost that authors do actually enjoy hearing!


End file.
